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THE  LIBRARIES 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


GIVEN  BY 


Virginia  C,  Gildersleeve 


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HISTORY 


INQUISITION 


ESTABLISHMENT  TILL  THE  PRESENT   TIME 


BY  WILLIAM  SIME, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  HISTORIES  OF  THE  REFORMATION,  CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH,  WALDENSES,  &C. 


♦•  Instruments  of  crueltj  are  in  their  habitation."— Gbn.  xlix.  5. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION. 


GIFT  OF 


PREFACE 


Among  the  numerous  and  varieJ  methods  which  the 
Popish  Church  has  adopted,  to  maintain  its  usurped 
sway  over  the  minds  and  bodies  of  men,  none  has  been 
more  effectual  than  the  erection  of  the  Inquisition. 
Established  for  the  purpose  of  taking  cognizance  of 
what  it  styles  heresy,  many  are  the  victims  which  this 
tribunal  has  doomed  to  the  rack  and  the  flames,  for  en- 
deavouring to  regulate  their  faith  and  worship  agreea- 
bly to  the  unerring  standard  of  revealed  truth.  For 
aaany  ages,  its  procedure  was  comparatively  unknown, 
the  conduct  of  its  ministers  having  been  wrapt  up  in 
that  mysterious  secrecy  by  which  all  its  transactions 
are  characterized.  What  was  long  concealed  is,  how- 
ever, now  unfolded,  by  the  productions  of  many  unex- 
ceptionable writers,  not  a  few  of  whom  were  themselves 
connected  with  the  "  holy  office,"  and  are  consequently 
well  fitted  to  give  ai  impartial  account  of  its  iniquitous 
acts  and  deeds. 

The  design,  accordingly,  of  this  little  volume,  is  to 
give  a  succinct  and  connected  view  of  the  rise,  pro- 
gress, and  present  state  of  that  infamous  tribunal,  more 
especially  in  Spain.  Such  a  work,  the  writer  conceives, 
will  not  be  without  use,  notwithstanding  the  many  de- 
tailed accounts  that  have  been  given  of  an  institution, 
which  has  been,  and  still  is,  an  outrage  on  humanity. 
To  those  whose  avocations  allow  only  of  an  occasional 
perusal  of  books,  the  fcUowing  sheets  will  afford  infor- 
mation on  this  subject,  to  obtain  which  otherwise,  the 

iii 


iV  PREFACE. 

reading  of  many  large  works  would  be  necessary ;  and 
to  the  young  student,  it  is  hoped,  they  may  pave  the 
way  for  future  research,  excite  an  earl>  abhorrence  of 
tyranny  and  bigotry,  and  nurture  the  spirit  of  Christian 
philanthropy  and  liberality. 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  writer  to  condense  as  much 
information  within  a  small  compass  as  possible.  Not 
a  few  cases  of  well-attested  individual  suffering  have 
also  been  introduced,  illustrative  of  the  various  topics 
brought  forward  in  the  course  of  the  work. 

It  may  also  be  mentioned,  that  the  utmost  care  has 
been  taken  to  insure  the  authenticity  of  the  statements 
which  are  advanced;  though  it  was  deemed  inexpedient 
to  enlarge  the  volume  by  notes  of  reference  to  the  wri- 
ters whence  it  is  compiled,  these  for  the  most  part  being 
embodied  in  the  text.  To  enumerate  all  the  authors 
whose  writings  have  been  consulted,  is  as  unneces- 
sary as  it  would  be  tedious.  But  it  may  be  of  import- 
ance to  state,  that  among  others  whose  names  will  be 
found  in  the  work  itself,  materials  have  been  collected 
from  Limborch,  Baker,  Hurd,  Montanus,  Salgado, 
Father  Paul,  Gavin,  Dellon,  Buchanan,  Puigblanch, 
Llorente,  Blanco  White,  and  Don  Juan  Van  Halen. 

EriNBURGH,  July,  1834. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

Persecution  for  religious  opinions,  opposed  to  the  spirit 
of  Christianity,  and  to  the  sentiments  of  the  primi- 
tive fathers — it  increases  with  the  growth  of  the 
Papal  authority — edicts  of  the  synod  of  Tours  and 
of  the  Roman  Pontiff  against  the  Waldenses — the 
foundation  of  the  Inquisition  laid  by  Regnier  and 
Guy — Innocent  III.  institutes  two  new  orders  of  regu- 
/Tars — birth  and  education  of  St.  Dominic — his  erec- 
j  tion  of  the  Inquisition,  and  thirst  for  human  blood — 
procedure  of  the  first  Inquisitors — difficulties  which 
had  to  be  surmounted  previous  to  the  establishment 
of  the  Inquisition — edicts  of  Frederick  II.  against 
heresy — erection  of  Inquisitorial  tribunals  indifferent 
countries — letter  of  Pope  Gregory  IX.  to  the  Inquisi- 
tors— successful  resistance  of  several  states  against 
the  erection  of  these  Courts,  -        -        -  9 

CHAPTER  11. 

Rise  and  progress  of  the  Inquisition  in  Spain — new  pri- 
vileges conferred  on  the  Inquisitors — their  proceed- 
ings— sketch  of  the  government  of  the  ancient  Span- 
ish Inquisition — dreadful  persecution  of  the  Jews  and 
Moors  at  Seville  in  1481 — they  are  exposed  to  similar 
^persecutions  in  the  other  provinces  of  Spain — Tor- 
^  quemada   appointed  Inquisitor-general  —  he   frames 
^laws  for  the  government  of  the  different  tribunals— 
his  audacity  and  cruelty — proceedings  of  his  succes- 
sors Deza  and  Ximenes — the  Reformers'  works  pro 
scribed— zeal  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  in  behalf 
of  the  Inquisition — his  son   Philip  II.  is  still   more 
superstitious  and  intolerant — horrid  cruelty  of  that 
infatuated    monarch  —  his    efforts   to   establish   the 
5*  (V) 


VI  CONTENTS. 

Inquisition  in  every  part  of  his  dominions—ignorance 
of  the  Inquisitors— ludicrous  trial  of  the  famous 
Galileo  before  the  "Holy  Tribunal."  -        -       25 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Appointment  of  the  Inquisitors  in  Spain — their  exten- 
sive privileges — they  pretend  to  have  jurisdiction 
over  the  subjects  of  other  states — imprisonment  of 
Thomas  Maynard— dignity  and  splendour  of  the  In- 
quisitors— other  officers  belonging  to  the  Inquisition 
— procedure  of  the  tribunal  of  the  "  Holy  Ollice  " — 
eagerness  of  the  Inquisitors  to  preserve  secrecy  in 
all  their  transactions— their  manner  of  receiving  and 
interrogating  informers— their  rigorous  proceedings 
towards  any  of  their  servants  who  may  dare  to  vio- 
late in  the  least  their  unjust  orders— citing  of  the 
witnesses — apprehension  of  the  person  accused— 
his  imprisonment — prisons  of  the  Inquisition — exami- 
nation of  a  culprit — artifice  and  injustice  practised 
by  the  judges  to  induce  a  person  to  criminate  him- 
self— striking  example  of  their  duplicity  and  bar- 
barity.   56 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Examination  of  the  accused  by  torture — its  different 
degrees— Puigblanch's  description  of  this  inhuman 
practice — it  is  sometimes  inflicted  on  those  who  are 
condemned  to  death— sufferings  of  William  Lithgow 
— innocence  no  protection  against  Inquisitorial  cru- 
elty— barbarous  usage  of  Johanna  Bohorques — differ- 
ent punishments  inflicted  by  the  Inquisition — descrip- 
tion of  an  auto-da-fe — procession  which  accompanies 
the  celebration  of  that  ceremony — burning  of  heretics 
— account  of  the  splendid  auto-da-fe' which  took  place 
at  Madrid  in  1680— penitential  habits  which  are  worn 
by  the  criminals — hypocritical  manner  in  which  the  In- 
quisitors deliver  over  a  culprit  to  the  civil  power.  79 

CHAPTER  V. 

Auto-da-fe  celebrated  at  Seville  in  1560 — the  Inquisitor- 
general  Valdes  publishes  a  new  code  of  laws  for  the 
governmBni  of  the  holy  office— p'-oceedings  of  the  In- 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

quisition  during  the  reigns  of  Philip  III  Philip  IV. 
and  Charles  II.~slate  of  the  nation  at  the  accession 
of  Philip  V. — M.  Legal,  the  French  commander,  levies 
a  contribution  on  the  Dominicans  in  Saragossa— their 
stratagem  to  elude  payment—the  Inquisitors  excom- 
municate M.  Legal— he  throws  open  the  doors  of  the 
Inquisition  and  liberates  the  prisoners — the  freema- 
sons become  the  objects  of  persecution  by  the  holy 
office— state  of  the  Inquisition  during  the  reigns  of 
Ferdinand  VL  Charles  III.  and  Charles  IV.— the  In- 
quisitors prohibit  the  reading  of  French  works  at  the 
period  of  the  revolution  in  that  kingdom— the  Inquisi- 
tion suppressed  by  Bonaparte  and  completely  abol- 
ished by  the  Cortes-General — it  is  re-established  by 
Ferdinand  VII. — persecuting  spirit  of  the  modern  In- 
quisition—sufferings of  Van  Halen— sentence  of  death 
by  the  pendulum  passed  by  the  Inquisitors  in  1820,  102 

CHAPTER  VL 

The  horrid  procedure  of  the  Inquisition  is  never  calcu- 
lated to  make  converts— Case  of  Don  Carlos  de  Sessa 
— of  Isaac  Orobio— the  punishments  inflicted  by  the 
holy  tribunal  encourage  hypocrisy — examples — the 
Inquisition  frequently  condemns  the  innocent— trial 
of  Melchior  Hernandez — the  Inquisitors  proved  to  be 
actuated  by  avarice  in  their  condemnation  of  prison- 
ers— examples— Nicholas  Burton— a  child— other  of- 
fences besides  heresy  taken  cognizance  of  by  the 
Holy  Office— its  flagrant  injustice  — its  barbarous 
proceedings  against  the  dead— Marc  Antonio  de  Do- 
minis,      ^28 

CHAPTER  VIL 

Hostility  of  the  Inquisition  to  the  progress  of  literature 
and  science— examples— Don  Melchior  de  Macanaz 
—Luis  de  Leon— Aonius  Palearius— freemasonry  a 
peculiar  object  of  persecution  by  the  holy  tribunal- 
interesting  trial  of  M.  Tournon— his  sentence— cruelty 
of  the  Inquisition  in  the  nineteenth  century— affectmg 
account  of  the  sufferings  of  Don  Miguel  Juan  An- 
toni )  Solano— his  death  while  confined  in  the  prisons 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

of  the  Inquisition— he  is  denied  Christian  burial- 
remarks  by  Puigblanch  on  the  iniquitous  procedure 
of  the  holy  office,  -        -        -        -  152 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Portuguese  "  holy  tribunal" — imprisonment  of  Dellon  in 
the  Inquisition  at  Goa — he  is  thrice  examined  before 
the  Inquisitors—despair  impels  him  to  attempt  com- 
mitting suicide— his  fourth  examination— sentence  of 
death  pronounced  on  him— preparations  for  celebrat- 
ing an  auto-da-fe — the  various  dresses  which  were 
worn  by  the  criminals— order  of  the  procession — Del- 
Ion's  sentence  mitigated,  and  publicly  read — ceremo- 
nies which  are  observed  towards  those  who  are  con- 
demned to  death— penances  enjoined  upon  Dellon  at 
his  liberation.        -        -        -  -        -        172 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Inquisition  at  Goa  has  made  little  iuipiovement 
since  the  time  of  Dellon— extracts  from  Dr.  Bu- 
chanan's Christian  Researches  in  Asia— he  visits  Goa 
—becomes  acquainted  with  the  Inquisitor  Joseph  a 
Doloribus — conversation  between  Dr.  Buchanan  and 
the  Inquisitor  respecting  Dellon's  account  of  the  tri- 
bunal—attempt made  by  the  Inquisitor  to  prove  that 
the  procedure  of  the  holy  office  is  ameliorated— the 
Doctor  visits  the  Inquisition— he  pleads,  in  vain,  to 
see  the  dungeons  and  the  captives— his  remarks  on 
the  effiarts  which  ought  to  be  made  by  Britain  to 
abolish  so  odious  a  tribunal— true  picture  of  the  In- 
quisition by  several  writers— conclusion,      -        191 

APPENDIX. 

No.  I.— Articles  of  Torquemada,  for  regulating  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Inquisition,  drawn  up  in  1484,       218 

No.  II.— Articles  drawn  up  by  the  Inquisitor-general 
Valdes,  in  1561,  for  the  better  regulation  of  the  holy 
office,  ..---..         221 


HISTORY 

OP 

THE  INaUISITION. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Persecution  for  religious  opinions,  opposed  to  the  spiri 
of  Christianity — its  increase  with  the  growth  of  the 
Papal  authority — the  foundation  of  the  Inquisition 
laid  by  Regnier  and  Guy — Birth  and  education  of 
St.  Dominic— his  erection  of  the  Inquisition,  and 
thirst  for  human  blood — procedure  of  the  first  Inqui- 
sitors— erection  of  inquisitorial  tribunals  in  difierent 
countries. 

Nothing  is  more  evident  to  every  candid 
reader  of  the  inspired  volume,  than  that  per- 
secution in  any  form  is  utterly  opposed  to 
the  spirit  of  genuine  Christianity.  "  Learn 
of  me,"  said  the  Saviour,  when  he  proposed 
himself  as  a  model  for  his  followers,  "  for  I 
am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart ;"  and  following 
up  his  principles  of  mildness,  he  reproved 
the  indiscreet  zeal  of  James  and  John,  when 
they  sought  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven  to 
consune  the  Samaritans,  because  they  re- 
fused to  receive  them  into  one  of  their  vil- 
lages. Nay,  so  far  from  giving  his  disciples 
a  power  to  persecute,  thf  Divine  Founder  of 

9 


10  HISTORY    OP 

the  Christian  rehgion  foretold  them  that  they 
must  suffer  persecution  for  his  name.  This 
they  soon  experienced ;  but,  instead  of  ren- 
dering evil  for  evil,  they  "  approved  them- 
selves as  the  ministers  of  God,  by  much 
patience,  by  afflictions,  necessities,  distresses, 
stripes,  and  imprisonments ;"  thus  showing 
by  example,  as  well  as  by  precept,  that  "  the 
weapons  of  their  warfare  were  not  carnal, 
but  spiritual." 

While  the  objects  of  persecution,  the  Chris- 
tians acted  agreeably  to  these  principles,  and 
for  three  centuries  contended,  that  persecu- 
tion for  religious  opinions  is  not  only  absurd, 
but  unjust  and  cruel  in  the  highest  degree. 
"  Every  one,"  says  Tertullian,  "  hath  a  na- 
tural right  and  power  to  worship  according 
to  his  persuasion ;  for  no  man's  religion  can 
be  hurtful  or  profitable  to  his  neighbour." 
"  There  is  no  need  of  compulsion  and  vio- 
lence," says  Lactantius,  "  because  rehgion 
cannot  be  forced,  and  men  must  be  made 
willing,  not  by  stripes,  but  by  arguments." 
The  maxims  of  mildness  towards  those  vvho 
were  called  heretics,  are  also  inculcated  by 
Chrysostom,  in  the  following  among  many 
similar  passages  of  his  works  : — "  We  ought 
to  fight  against  heretics,  not  to  throw  down 
those  who  are  upright,  but  to  raise  up  those 
who  are  fallen  ;  for  the  war  which  is  incum- 
bent on  us  is  not  that  which  gives  death  to 
the  living,  but  that  which  restores  life  to  the 
dead,  seeing  that  our  arms  are  meekness  and 


THE    INQUISITION.  11 

benignity.  In  dealing  with  heretics,  we  ought 
not  to  injure  them  in  person,  but  seek  to  re- 
move the  error  of  the  understanding,  and 
the  3vil  of  the  heart.  We  ought  always  to 
be  disposed  to  submit  to  persecution,  and  not 
to  persecute  ;  to  suffer  grievances,  and  not  to 
cause  them.  It  is  in  this  manner  Jesus  Christ 
conquered,  since  he  was  nailed  to  a  cross — 
he  did  not  crucify  others."  Even  so  late  as 
the  fifth  century,  St.  Martin,  in  France,  ex- 
communicated a  bishop,  for  accusing  certain 
heretics  to  the  usurper  Maximin,  by  whose 
means  they  were  put  to  death;  adding,  in 
the  spirit  of  genuine  Christianity,  that  he 
looked  upon  that  man  as  a  murderer,  who 
procured  the  destruction  of  a  fellow-creature, 
chargeable,  in  strict  justice,  with  nothing  else 
than  being  mistaken  in  his  opinions. 

But  in  despite  of  the  mild  spirit  of  the 
gospel,  exemplified  in  every  page  of  the  sa- 
cred writings,  and  of  the  opinions  of  the 
primitive  fathers,  who  unanimously  con- 
demned persecution  for  conscience  sake,  it 
was  not  long  before  those  who  pretended  to 
be  the  disciples  of  Jesus  began  to  imitate 
the  conduct  which  they  had  censured  in  the 
heathen  emperors.  When  the  Roman  em- 
pire became  Christian,  it  still  appeared  to  the 
civil  magistrate  that  he  was  bound  to  sup- 
port the  religion  adopted  by  the  state. — 
"  Hence  it  was  that  laws  were  enacted 
against  heretics,  subjecting  them  to  fines, 
imprisohment,   and   brnishment ;    with   this 


12  HISTORY    OF 

limitation,  however,  in  every  case,  that  the 
ecclesiastical  judge  was  to  determine  whether 
the  opinions  professed  were  heretical  or  not. 
The  party  accused,  besides,  was  usually- 
charged  at  the  same  time  with  the  crime  of 
sedition  or  rebellion ;  and  whenever  the 
punishment  was  capital,  it  was  understood 
to  be  the  result  chiefly  of  a  criminal  oppo- 
sition to  the  civil  authorities."  The  law  and 
practice  respecting  heresy  continued  in  this 
situation  till  the  commencement  of  the  ninth 
century.  The  trial  of  the  whole  case  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  civil  magistrate  ;  and,  with 
the  exception  of  ecclesiastical  censures,  it  be- 
longed to  councils  merely  to  determine  whether 
the  doctrine  libelled  was  or  was  not  heretical. 
In  succeeding  centuries,  however,  the 
power  of  the  ecclesiastical  tribunals,  and  of 
the  papacy  itself,  increased  in  a  most  extra- 
ordinary degree.  The  zeal  which  animated 
the  Church  against  heretics  became  fierce 
and  ungovernable,  and  all  who  dared  to 
advance  sentiments  opposed  to  those  en- 
joined by  the  Romish  hierarchy,  were  sub- 
jected to  persecution  in  every  form.  "  In 
the  following  ages,"  says  Limborch,  when 
speaking  of  the  sixth  and  subsequent  cen- 
turies, "  the  affairs  of  the  Church  were  so 
managed  under  the  government  of  the  Popes, 
and  all  persons  so  strictly  curbed  by  the  se- 
verity of  the  laws,  that  they  durst  not  even 
so  much  as  whisper  against  the  received 
opinions  of  the   Church.      Besides  this,  so 


THE    I.SQUISITION.  13 

deep  was  the  ignorance  that  had  spread 
itself  over  the  world,  that  men,  without  the 
least  regard  to  knowledge  and  learning,  re- 
ceived, with  blind  obedience,  every  thing 
that  the  ecclesiastics  ordered  them,  however 
stupid  and  superstitious,  without  any  exami- 
nation ;  and  if  any  one  dared  in  the  least  to 
contradict  them,  he  was  sure  immediately  to 
be  punished ;  whereby  the  most  absurd 
opinions  came  to  be  established  by  the  vio- 
lence of  the  Popes." 

The  chief  aim  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  in- 
deed, now  was  to  crush  in  its  infancy  every 
doctrine  which  had  the  smallest  tendency  to 
oppose  their  exorbitant  power.  In  the  year 
1163,  the  Synod  of  Tours  commanded  all  the 
bishops  and  priests  in  the  country  of  Tou- 
louse, "  to  take  care,  and  to  forbid  under  pain 
of  excommunication,  every  person  from  pre- 
suming to  give  reception,  or  the  least  assist- 
ance, to  the  followers  of  heresy,  wherever 
they  should  be  discovered.''  This  decree 
had  in  view,  more  particularly,  the  Wal- 
denses  and  Albigenses,  an  eminent  Christian 
community  who  inhabited  the  valleys  of 
Piedmont  and  the  south  of  France,  and  who 
held  doctrines  different  from  those  which 
were  commanded  by  the  Popes,  on  pain  of 
death,  to  be  imphcitly  believed.  The  Wal- 
denses,  whose  religious  sentiments  were  simi- 
lar to  those  of  the  Protestants  at  the  present 
day,  had  long  continued  to  reject  the  absurdi 
2 


14  HISTORY    OF 

ties  of  Popery  ;*  and  though,  for  several  ages, 
they  had  escaped  the  notice  of  the  Holy  See, 
yet  having  in  the  twelfth  century  become 
exceedingly  numerous,  they  excited  the  ut- 
most hatred  of  the  Pope  and  his  adherents. 
About  the  year  1200,  accordingly,  Pope  In- 
nocent III.  wrote  to  several  archbishops  and 
bishops  in  Guienne,  and  other  provinces  in 
France,  enjoining  them  to  banish  the  "  Wal- 
denses,  Puritans,  and  Paternines,''  from  their 
territories,  and  commissioned  Regnier  and 
Guy,  two  zealous  monks,  to  repair  to  France, 
for  the  purpose  of  discovering  and  subduing 
heresy.  These  two  apostles  of  the  Holy  See 
may  now  be  considered  as  having  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  Inquisition,  though  the 
honour,  or  rather  infamy,  of  erecting  that  hor- 
rid court,  is  due  to  another  individual  no  less 
cruel.  Regnier  was  subsequently  appointed 
the  Pope's  legate  in  the  four  provinces  of  Nar- 
bonne,  Aix,  Aries,  and  Embrun  :  but  having 
fallen  sick,  Innocent  joined  to  him  Peter  of 
Castelnau — one,  says  Sismondi,  "  whose  zeal, 
more  furious  than  that  of  his  predecessors,  is 
worthy  of  those  sentiments  which  the  very 
jiame  of  the  Inquisition  inspires." 

For  many  ages  the  method  of  proceeding 

•  A  History  of  the  Waldenses  having  been  already 
published,  the  author  considers  it  unnecessary  to  give 
here  any  particular  account  either  of  the  history  or  doc- 
trines  of  that  interesting  people,  more  especially  as  that 
work  contains  a  full  account  of  the  crusades  against  the 
Albigenses,  and  of  the  persecutions  carried  on  by  the 
Popish  Clmrch  against  their  brethren  in  Piedmont. 


THE    INQUISITION.  15 

against  heretics  was  committed  to  ths  bish  ftps, 
with  whom  the  government  and  care  of  the 
churches  were  entrusted,  acconhng  to  the 
received  decrees  of  the  Romish  church.  But 
imagining  that  they  did  not  proceed  with 
sufficient  severity  against  the  opponents  of 
the  Romish  faith,  and  especially  against  the 
Waldenses,  the  Pope  had  recourse  to  other 
methods  for  the  purpose  of  more  effectually 
extirpating  heresy.  With  this  view,  Inno- 
cent, in  the  year  1204,  instituted  two  orders 
of  regulars,  namely,  those  of  St.  Dominic  and 
St.  Francis.  Dominic  and  his  followers  were 
sent  into  the  country  of  Toulouse,  where 
they  preached  with  great  vehemence  against 
all  who  held  opinions  different  from  those  of 
Rome ;  in  consequence  of  which,  the  order 
of  Dominic  received  the  name  of  Predi- 
cants. Francis  and  his  disciples  acted  a 
similar  part  in  Italy.  Both  saints,  as  they 
are  impiously  called,  were  commanded  by 
the  Pope,  "to  excite  the  Catholic  princes  and 
people  to  extirpate  heretics ;  in  all  places  to 
inquire  into  their  number  and  quality;  and 
to  transmit  a  faithful  account  to  Rome." 
Hence  they  were  called  Inquisitors. 

The  erection  of  that  extraordinary  court, 
"the  Inquisition,"  is,  indeed,  uniformly  as- 
cribed to  Dominic,  a  man  of  the  most  blood- 
thirsty disposition,  and  whose  deeds  of  cru- 
elty may  not  unjustly  be  compared  with  those 
of  the  infamous  Nero.  Dominic  was  born 
at  the  village  of  Cabaroga,  in  Spain,  in  the 


16  HISTORY    OP 

year  1 1 70.  Previous  to  his  birth,  his  mother. 
Joanna,  is  said  to  have  dreamed  that  she 
was  with  child  of  a  pup,  carrying  in  its 
mouth  a  hghted  torch ;  and  after  its  birth,  it 
put  the  world  in  an  uproar  by  its  fierce 
barkings,  and  at  length  set  it  on  fire  by  the 
torch  which  it  carried  in  its  mouth.  His 
followers  have  interpreted  this  dream,  of  his 
doctrine,  by  which  he  enhghtened  the  world; 
while  others,  with  far  more  reason,  consider 
the  torch  to  be  an  emblem  of  that  fire  and 
faggot  by  which  an  almost  infinite  multitude 
of  persons  were  burnt  to  ashes.  Dominic 
"  was  educated  for  the  priesthood,"  says  a 
modern  writer,  "  and  grew  up  the  most  fiery 
and  the  most  bloody  of  mortals.  Before  his 
time,  every  bishop  was  a  sort  of  Inquisitor 
in  his  own  diocese ;  but  Dominic  contrived 
to  incorporate  a  body  of  men,  independent 
of  every  human  being,  except  the  Pope,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  ensnaring  and  de- 
stroying Christians.  He  was  well  aware, 
that  however  loudly  the  priests  declaimed 
against  heresy,  the  lords  of  the  soil  would 
not  suffer  them  to  butcher  their  tenants 
under  any  such  vain  pretences.  In  Biscay, 
the  priesthood  was  at  a  very  low  ebb  in  the 
eleventh  century,  and  the  clergy  complained 
to  the  King  of  Navarre,  that  the  nobility  and 
gentry  treated  them  very  little  better  than 
their  slaves,  employing  them  chiefly  only  to 
breed  up  and  sed  their  dogs.  Nearly  a  cen- 
tury after  tha*  time  in  a  neighbouring  state. 


THE    INQUISITION.  17 

when  the  renowned  St.  Bernard  began,  in  a 
sermon  to  a  crowded  audience  to  inveigh 
against  heresy,  the  nobiUty  an  i  gentry  all 
rose  up  and  left  the  church,  and  the  people 
followed  them.  The  preacher  came  down 
and  proceeded  to  the  market-place,  where 
he  attempted  to  harangue  on  the  same  sub- 
ject ;  but  the  populace,  wiser  than  the 
preacher,  refused  to  hear  him,  and  raised 
such  a  clamour  as  drowned  his  voice,  and 
compelled  him  to  desist.  Only  one  expedi- 
ent remained.  Bernard  recollected  that  Jesus 
had  ordered  his  apostles,  in  certain  cases,  to 
shake  off  the  dust  of  their  feet,  and,  as  though 
he  were  an  apostle,  and  had  received  the 
same  command,  he  affected  to  imitate  the 
example.  He  left  the  city,  shook  his  feet, 
and  exclaimed,  "  May  the  Almighty  punish 
this  city  with  a  drought."  Thus  far  went  the 
rage  of  Catholicism  at  the  beginning  of  the 
twelfth  century,  and  here  its  proud  waves 
were  stayed  ;  but  at  the  commencement  of 
the  thirteenth,  about  the  year  1215,*  Dominic 

*  Although  Dominic  was  both  the  projector  of  the  In- 
quisition, and  the  first  Inquisitor,  historians  differ  as  to 
the  year  when  that  iniquitous  court  was  first  erected  ; 
some  fixing  the  date  of  its  establishment  so  early  as  in 
1208,  others  in  1212,  and  not  a  few  in  the  year  above 
mentioned.  This,  however,  can  be  but  of  little  moment. 
It  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  "  in  an 
evil  hour,"  to  use  the  words  of  a  late  eminent  and  la- 
mented author,  "  and  under  some  planet  of  malignani 
aspect  and  of  disastrous  influence,"  that  St.  Dominic, 
the  father  of  the  Inquisition,  arose. 
2* 


18  HISTORY    OF 

broke  down  the  dam,  and  covered  Toulouse 
with  a  tide  of  despotism  stained  with  human 
blood.  Posterity  will  scarcely  believe  that 
this  enemy  of  mankind,  after  forming  a  race 
like  himself,  first  called  preaching,  and  then 
Dominican  friars,  died  in  his  bed,  was  canon- 
ized as  a  saint,  worshipped  as  a  divinity,  and 
proposed  as  a  model  of  piety  and  virtue  to 
succeeding  generations." 

The  Inquisitors,  at  first,  had  no  tribunals ; 
they  simply  inquired  after  the  number, 
strength,  and  riches  of  heretics,  and  gave 
information  of  all  these  particulars  to  the 
bishops,  who  at  that  time  had  the  sole  power 
of  judging  in  ecclesiastical  matters ;  urging 
them  to  anathematize,  or  otherwise  to  pun- 
ish, such  heretical  persons  as  they  brought 
before  them.  Sometimes  they  excited  princes 
to  arm  their  subjects  against  those  whom  they 
denounced  as  heretics,  and  at  other  times  they 
inflamed  the  populace  to  take  up  arms  and 
unite  in  extirpating  them.  Nay,  in  his  zeal 
'or  the  Popish  faith,  Dominic,  amidst  a  vast 
concourse  of  people,  in  one  of  his  sermons 
openly  declared,  "  That  he  was  raised  to  a 
new  office  by  the  Pope  ;  that  he  was  resolved 
to  defend  with  all  his  power  the  doctrines  of 
the  faith ;  and  that,  if  spiritual  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal weapons  were  not  sufficient  for  this  pur- 
pose, it  was  his  fixed  determination  to  call  on 
princes  to  take  up  arms  against  heretics,  that 
their  very  memory  might  be  entirely  de- 
Btroved  "    Nor  v^as  this  an  empty  threat.    In- 


THE    INQUISITION.  19 

stigated  by  this  inhuman  monk,  and  by  his 
adherents,  armies  were  raised,  styled  cross- 
bearers,  or  crusaders,  who  massaxTed  thou- 
sands of  the  Albigenses,  laid  their  cities  in 
ruhis,  and  compelled  the  few  who  escaped  to 
seek  refuge  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 

In  course  of  time  the  Inquisitors  took  cog- 
nizance of  other  crimes,  from  their  being  sup- 
posed to  have  some  affinity  with,  or  to  bear 
suspicion  of,  heresy :  such  as  heretical  blas- 
phemy, witchcraft,  belief  in  omens,  confes- 
sional seduction,  and  even  polygamy.  "  The 
original  simplicity  of  the  Inquisition,"  says 
Dr.  M'Crie,  "  soon  gave  place  to  a  system  of 
the  most  complicated  and  iniquitous  circum- 
vention. Inflamed  with  a  passion  for  extirpat- 
ing heresy,  and  persuading  themselves  that  the 
end  sanctified  the  means,  they,  (the  Inquisi- 
tors) not  only  acted  upon,  but  formally  laid 
down  as  a  rule  for  their  conduct,  maxims 
founded  on  the  grossest  deceit  and  artifice, 
according  to  which  they  sought  in  every  way 
to  ensnare  their  victims,  and  by  means  of 
false  statements,  delusory  promises,  and  a 
tortuous  course  of  examination,  to  betray 
them  into  confessions  which  proved  fatal  to 
their  lives  and  fortunes.  To  this  mental  tor- 
ture was  soon  after  added  the  use  of  bodily 
tortures,  together  with  the  concealment  of  the 
names  of  witnesses." 

iTnnocent  died  in  1216,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Honorius  III.  who  used  every  eflbrt  to 
give  permanency  to  the  Inquisition  ;  which 


20  HISTORY    OP 

was   not,  however,  accomplished    till   1227 
under  the  pontificate  of  Gregory  IX. 

The  growth  of  the  Inquisition  was  very 
gradual,  and  not  a  few  obstacles  had  to  be 
surmounted  previous  to  its  complete  estab- 
lishment in  the  diflerent  popish  countries  of 
Europe.  Two  objections  in  particular  were 
raised  against  its  erection  ;  the  one,  that  it 
was  an  encroachment  on  the  authority  of  the 
bishop  of  the  place  ;  the  other,  that  it  deprived 
the  civil  magistrate  of  the  trial  and  punish- 
ment of  heretics,a  privilege  which  he  formerly 
enjoyed.  To  remove  the  first  of  these  difli- 
culties,  the  Pope  appointed  the  bishop  of  the 
place  to  act  in  concert  with  the  Inquisitor  : 
this,  however,  was  but  a  name,  the  Inquisitor 
having  the  sole  power  lodged  in  his  hands. 
To  remedy  the  second,  the  civil  magistrate 
was  allowed  to  appoint  the  subordinate  offi- 
cers, and  to  inflict  the  legal  punishment,  after 
^rial  and  condemnation  by  the  Inquisitors.* 

Notwithstandhig  the  opposition  of  the  peo- 
ple to  this  novel  tribunal,  therefore  the  Popes, 
aided  by  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  not  only 
obtained  its  erection,  but  additional  autho- 
rity to  the  Inquisitors.     These  hitherto   un- 

*  On  this  privilege  enjoyed  by  the  civil  magistrate. 
Dr.  Jortin  humorously  remarks,  that  "  the  priest  was 
the  judge,  and  the  king  was  the  hangman  !"  A  third 
pan  of  the  property  of  heretics,  was,  however,  allowed 
to  belong  to  the  magistrate  for  the  benefit  of  the  com- 
munity; but  out  of  this  again  he  had  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  keeping  up  me  prisons  and  supporting  the 
prisoners. 


THE    INQUISITION.  21 

precedented  judges  were  soon  afterwards 
em})Owered,  as  the  representatives  of  the 
Pope,  to  sit  and  pronounce  sentence  on  those 
whom  they  stigmatized  by  the  name  of  here- 
tics. Their  efibrts  were  greatly  assisted  by 
Frederick  II.,  King  of  the  Romans,  who,  in 
1224,  issued  no  fewer  than  four  edicts  against 
heresy,  addressed  "  to  his  beloved  princes, 
the  venerable  archbishops,  bishops,  and  other 
prelates  of  the  Church ;  to  the  dukes,  mar- 
quises, earls,  barons,  governors,  judges,  min- 
isters, and  all  other  his  faithful  subjects 
throughout  the  empire."  In  these  edicts 
"he  takes  the  Inquisitors  under  his  protec- 
tion, imposes  on  obstinate  heretics  the  pun- 
ishment of  being  burnt  to  death,  and  of  per- 
petual imprisonment  on  the  penitent,  com- 
mitting the  cognizance  of  the  crime  to  the 
ecclesiastical,  and  the  condemnation  of  the 
criminals,  as  well  as  the  infliction  of  the  pun- 
ishment, to  the  secular  judges." 

The  "  Holy  Office"  soon  extended  its  au- 
thority, and  enlarged  the  number  of  its  tribu- 
nals, in  almost  every  kingdom  of  Europe 
where  any  were  suspected  of  heresy.  It  was 
established  in  Toulouse  in  1229,  where  it 
was  first  given  in  charge  to  the  monks  of  the 
Cistercian  order,  and  afterwards  in  1233  to 
the  Dominicans.  Innocent  IV.  extended  it 
to  all  Italy,  except  Naples,  where  its  intro- 
duction was  always  opposed.  In  1231,  seve- 
ral Waldenses  being  discovered  in  the  city  of 
Rome,   they   were   all   either   consigned   to 


22  HISTORY    OF 

the  flames,  or  imprisoned  till  they  should  re- 
tract their  errors.  It  soon  declined,  however, 
in  Italy,  and  even  in  Rome  itself,  till,  in  1545, 
it  was  restored  by  Paul  III.  who  created  the 
Congregation  of  the  Inquisition,  composed  of 
cardinals  presided  over  by  the  Pope.  From 
Toulouse  the  Inquisition  was  brought  to 
Spain  in  the  year  1233;  but  did  not  go  out 
of  the  kingdom  of  Arragon,  till  after  its  union 
with  that  of  Castile,  when,  in  1480,  it  was 
established  in  Seville  by  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
oella,  under  the  authority  of  Sixtus  IV.  It 
was  afterwards  extended  to  more  distant 
provinces,  and  every  where  entrusted  to  the 
management  of  Dominican  friars.  Germany, 
Austria,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Poland,  Dalma- 
tia,  Bosnia,  and  numerous  other  places,  were 
soon  compelled  to  receive  these  bloody  tribu- 
nals. Portugal  was  subjected  to  its  tyranny, 
in  1536  ;  and,  latterly,  in  1571,  Philip  II.  in- 
troduced it  into  America.  "  During  the  pon- 
tificate of  Gregory,^'  says  the  author  of 
"  Sketches  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition,'^  "  it 
was  introduced  into  the  Christian  kingdoms 
of  Spain,  (meaning  those  parts  of  Spain 
where  Christianity  was  professed,  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  those  possessed  by  the 
Moors ;)  and  the  Dominicans  of  that  country 
soon  found  an  ample  field  for  the  exercise  of 
their  office  among  the  Jewish  and  Moorish 
proselytes,  whom  interest  or  fear  had  drawn 
within  the  pale  of  the  Catholic  Church.  From 
this  period  the  institution  went  on  increasing 


THE    INQUISITION.  23 

in  extent  and  activity,  till  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella became  the  sovereigns  of  all  Spain. 
During  their  reign,  it  became  the  subject  of 
much  controversy  between  the  courts  of 
Spain  and  Rome.  Isabella,  a  woman  of  con- 
siderable talents,  appears  to  have  foreseen 
the  encroachments  which  the  Inquisition 
would  make  upon  the  royal  prerogatives,  but 
her  resistance  was  overruled,  and,  in  1482, 
the  famous  Torquemada  was  appointed  In- 
quisitor-general of  Castile.  In  the  succeed- 
ing year  his  commission  was  extended  to 
Arragon ;  and  following  the  successes  of  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella,  he  successively  planted 
the  Inquisition  in  the  Moorish  kingdoms  of 
Seville,  Cordova,  Jaen,  and  Villa  Real." 

The  following  letter  from  Pope  Gregory 
IX.  to  the  Inquisitors  of  Navarre,  may  serve 
as  a  specimen,  both  of  the  cruelty  of  the  papal 
see,  and  of  the  horrid  use  which  these  de- 
signing men  made  of  the  Scriptures  of  truth. 
"Since,  therefore,"  says  his  HoUness,  "ac- 
cording to  the  office  enjoined  us,  we  are 
bound  to  root  out  all  offences  from  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and,  as  much  as  in  us  lies,  to  op- 
pose such  beasts,  (the  Waldenses  and  other 
heretics,)  we  deliver  into  your  hands  the 
sword  of  the  word  of  God,  which,  according 
to  the  words  of  the  prophet,  Jer.  xlviii.  10,  ye 
ought  not  to  keep  back  from  blood  !  but,  in- 
spired with  a  zeal  for  the  Catholic  faith,  like 
Phineas,  make  iihgent  inquisition  concerning 
these  pestilent  wretches,  their  believers,  re- 


24  HISTORY    OF 

ceivers,  and  abettors,  and  proceed  against 
those  who,  by  such  inquisition,  shall  be  found 
guilty,  according  to  the  canonical  sanctions 
and  our  statutes,  which  we  have  lately  pub- 
lished, to  confound  heretical  pravity,  calling 
in  against  them,  if  need  be,  the  assistance  of 
the  secular  arm  !"  Similar  directions  were 
given  to  the  Inquisitors  in  other  countries,  all 
of  whom,  actuated  by  the  same  spirit,  obeyed 
the  Ijarbarous  orders  of  their  master  with  the 
utmost  alacrity.  To  regulate  the  procedure 
of  these  courts,  the  Pope  framed  thirty-one 
rules,  defining  their  jurisdiction  and  powers; 
and  all  rulers  and  magistrates  were  com- 
manded, by  a  Papal  bull,  issued  for  the  pur- 
pose, to  give,  under  the  pain  of  excommuni- 
cation, the  most  punctual  obedience,  and 
every  possible  assistance  to  these  spiritual 
courts  of  judicature. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  the  Sove- 
reign Pontiff,  however,  many  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  states  of  Europe  successfully  resisted 
the  introduction  of  the  Inquisition.  Though 
it  was  brought  into  France  at  a  very  early 
period,  yet  it  was  soon  afterwards  expelled, 
in  a  manner  so  effectual,  as  to  preclude  any 
renewal  of  the  attempt.  In  several  other 
countries,  the  inhabitants  sometimes  pro- 
ceeded to  open  violence,  and  had  they  not 
been  overawed  by  an  armed  force,  they 
would  have  put  the  Inquisitors  to  death,  and 
demolished  their  iniquitous  tribunals.  These 
commotions  were  excited  partly  by  the  con- 


-^  HE    INQUISITION.  25 

duct  of  the  Inquisitors  themselves,  whose 
severity,  avarice,  extortion,  aud  cruelty,  were 
quite  unbearable,  and  partly  by  the  great  ex- 
penses which  that  extraordinary  court  en- 
tailed on  the  community. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Rise  and  progress  of  the  Inquisition  in  Spain — sketch 
of  the  government  of  the  ancient  Spanish  Inquisition 
—dreadful  persecution  of  the  Jews  and  Moors — 
Torquemada  appointed  Inquisitor-general — proceed- 
ings of  his  successors  Deza  and  Ximenes — zeal  of 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  in  behalf  of  the  Inquisition— 
his  son  Philip  II.  is  still  more  superstitious  and  in- 
tolerant— ludicrous  trial  of  the  famous  Galileo  before 
the  "Holy  Tribunal." 

In  no  place  in  the  world  have  the  dreadful 
effects  of  the  Inquisition  been  more  severely 
felt  than  in  Spain.  Although,  therefore,  some 
account  of  its  establishment  in  that  kingdom 
has  been  already  given,  it  is  necessary  to 
enter  somewhat  more  particularly  into  its 
origin  and  progress  in  that  superstitious  and 
afflicted  country,  where  this  scourge  and  dis- 
grace to  h  iimanity  long  existed. 

As  alre«.dy  noticed,  the  Inquisition  was  in- 
troduced into  Spain  in  1233.  At  that  period 
Spain  was  divided  into  four  kingdoms,  name- 
ly, Castile,  which  comprehended  Seville,  Cor- 
dova, and  Jaen  ;  Arragon,  comprehending 
3 


26  HISTORY    OP 

Valencia  and  Majorca ;  Navarre  ;  and  Por- 
tugal. The  Dominicans  were  the  chief  order 
of  monks  in  these  kingdoms,  and  by  them, 
under  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  the  Inquisi- 
tion was  at  first  erected,  and  widely  extend- 
ed. In  1254,  Innocent  IV.  conferred  many 
additional  privileges  on  the  Dominicans,  and 
at  the  same  time  extended  the  prerogatives 
of  the  inquisitors,  permitting  them  to  take  the 
depositions  of  witnesses  although  their  names 
were  unknown.  These  prerogatives  were 
subsequently  enlarged  by  the  kings  of  Arra- 
gon,  who  in  1292  published  a  decree,  "com- 
manding the  tribunals  of  justice  to  assist  the 
Dominicans,  to  imprison  all  who  might  be 
denounced,  and  to  execute  the  judgments 
pronounced  by  the  monks."  From  that  pe- 
riod till  1474,  when  Isabella  ascended  the 
throne  of  Castile,  a  succession  of  inquisitors 
continued  to  burn  and  banish  great  numbers, 
not  only  of  Moors  and  Jews,  but  of  Christians, 
whom  they  suspected,  or  pretended  to  sus- 
pect, of  holding  heretical  opinions. 

Such  procedure  was  sanctioned  by  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  even  under  the  rules  of 
the  old  Inquisition.  Imagining  that  many 
crimes  which  came  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  civil  magistrates,  could  not  be  committed 
unless  accompanied  by  the  holding  of  here- 
tical principles,  the  Popes  enjoined  the  Inqui- 
sitors to  proceed  with  vigour  against  all  sus- 
pected persons.  Numbers  were  accordingly 
dragged   before  the  tribunal  of  the  "  Holy 


THE    INQUISITION.  27 

Office,''  charged  with  blasphem/.  sorcery, 
and  schism.  Nay,  to  remain  excommuni- 
cated for  a  year,  without  seeking  absohition, 
or  performing  the  penance  which  had  been 
imposed,  was  reputed  heresy.  The  Inquisi- 
tors also  proceeded  against  concealers,  fa- 
vourers, and  adherents  of  heretics,  as  being 
suspected  of  holding  the  same  opinions. 
Hence  all  nobles  who  refused  to  take  an  oath 
to  banish  the  heretics  from  their  states — law- 
yers who  assisted  heretics  by  their  advice — 
persons  who  declined  taking  an  oath  in  the 
trial  of  heretics,  &c.  &c.,  were  hable  to  sus- 
picion ;  and  in  order  to  render  the  crime  of 
heresy  still  more  odious,  the  bodies  of  such 
persons  as  had  held  opinions  different  from 
those  of  Rome,  were  disinterred  and  burnt, 
their  property  confiscated,  and  their  memory 
pronounced  infamous. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  history  of  the 
modern  Spanish  Inquisition,  we  shall  give 
here  some  account  of  the  government  of  the 
old  tribunal,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  an- 
cient Inquisitors.  "  The  first  Inquisitors  had 
no  fixed  salary,"  says  Llorente  ;  "the  Holy 
Office  was  founded  on  devotion  and  zeal  for 
the  faith ;  its  members  were  almost  all  monks, 
who  had  made  a  vow  of  poverty,  and  the 
priests  who  were  associated  in  their  labours 
were  generally  canons,  or  provided  with  be- 
nefices. But  when  the  Inquisitors  began  to 
make  journeys,  accompanied  by  recorders, 
alguazils,  and  an  armed  force,  the  Pope  de- 


88  HISTORY   OP 

creed  that  all  their  expenses  should  be  de- 
frayed  by  the  bishops,  on  the  pretence  that 
the  Inquisitors  laboured  for  the  destruction  of 
heresy  in  their  dioceses.  The  expenses  of 
the  Inquisition  were  afterwards  defrayed  by 
the  fines  and  confiscation  of  the  condemned 
heretics  ;  these  resources  were  the  only  funds 
of  the  Holy  Office  ;  it  never  possessed  any 
fixed  revenue." 

No  sooner  was  an  Inquisitor  appointed  by 
the  Roman  Pontiff,  than  the  magistrates  of 
the  place  were  commanded  to  arrest  ail  per- 
sons suspected  of  heresy,  to  furnish  the  In- 
quisitor and  his  attendants  with  lodgings,  and 
to  protect  them  from  every  insult.  One  of 
the  first  acts  of  the  Inquisitor,  was  to  publish 
an  order,  requiring  all  heretics  voluntarily  to 
confess  themselves  to  be  such,  and  promising 
them  absolution,  accompanied  by  slight  pe- 
nance, provided  their  confession  was  made 
within  a  stated  period.  Those  who  were 
accused,  and  did  not  appear  within  the  time 
prescribed,  were  shortly  afterwards  arrested 
and  lodged  in  the  Inquisition.  The  exami- 
nation of  the  accused  person  soon  followed, 
and  his  answers  were  compared  with  the 
testimonies  of  the  informer  and  witnesses 
against  him.  If  he  confessed  himself  to  be 
guilty  of  one  heretical  word,  he  was  imme- 
diately asked  to  abjure  all  his  errors,  as  the 
admission  of  one  was  considered  an  acknow- 
ledgment of  all  the  crimes  laid  to  his  charge. 
If  he  consented,  "^e  was  reconciled,  after  un 


THE    INQUISITION.  ST 

aergoing  various  penances  ;  but  if  ht  efusec', 
he  was  delivered  over  to  the  secular  judge  as 
an  obstinate  heretic.  When  an  accused  per- 
son denied  all  the  charges,  he  was  furnished 
with  a  copy  of  the  process,  but  the  names  of 
the  accuser  and  witnesses  were  carefully  con- 
cealed. Many  questions  were  asked  at  his 
examination ;  such  as,  if  he  had  any  ene- 
mies;  if  he  knew  their  motives  for  hating 
him  ;  if  he  suspected  any  particular  person 
of  wishing  to  ruin  him,  &c.  In  the  event  of 
his  still  denying  the  charges,  notwithstanding 
he  was  convicted  or  strongly  suspected,  he 
was  tortured  to  make  him  confess  his  here- 
sies. If  the  crime  imputed  to  the  accused 
was  not  proved,  he  was  acquitted,  but  still 
the  name  of  the  accuser  was  withheld.* 

On  the  union  of  the  several  kingdoms  of 
Spain,  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the  boun- 
daries of  the  Inquisition  were  extended,  and 
its  privileges  enlarged,  in  every  corner  of 
their  dominions.  At  that  period  it  was  prin- 
cipally intended  to  prevent  the  relapse  of  the 
Jews  and  Moors  who  had  been,  or  pretended 
to  be,  converted  to  the  Romish  faith.  In 
Seville,  especially,  many  of  the  Jews,  not 
withstanding  their  profession  of  Christianity, 
still  continued  to  practise  in  secret  their  an- 
cient rites,  which  having  come  to  the  ears  of 


*  A  more  particular  account  of  the  government  and 
proceedings  of  what  is  called  the  mcdern  Inquisition, 
will  be  given  afterwards. 

3* 


30  HISTORY    OF 

the  archbishop^  great  numbers  of  that  unhap- 
py nation  were  arrested  in  14S1,  and  thrown 
into  dungeons.*  After  a  tedious  examina- 
tion, in  some  cases  by  torture,  the  Inquisitors 
condemned  some  of  them  to  the  stake,  and 

*  "  No  object  can  be  presented  to  the  imagination 
more  gloomy,"  says  Puigblanch,  "  than  the  period  of 
the  regeneration  of  this  establishment  in  Seville.  It 
seems  as  if  at  sight  of  it  nature  herself  had  shuddered, 
or  that  she  wished  to  consummate  the  infelicity  of 
Spain,  so  unseasonable  and  great  was  the  hurricanes  of 
the  year  1481,  when  the  Inquisition  began  to  display 
its  fury."  "This  year  of  1481,"  says  Andrew  Bernal- 
dez,  an  eye  witness,  "was  a  year  of  great  rains  and  in- 
undations commencing  at  Christmas,  and  continuing 
onwards  in  such  manner,  that  the  Guadalquiver  bore 
away  and  destroyed  the  village  of  Copero,  in  which 
were  eighty  families,  as  well  as  many  other  places 
upon  the  banks,  and  the  flood  rose  up  through  the  bat- 
tlements of  Seville  and  the  outlet  of  Coria,  higher  than 
it  was  ever  known,  where  it  remained  stationary  for 
three  days,  and  the  whole  city  was  under  the  greatest 
apprehensions  of  being  destroyed  b}  water."  Accord- 
ing to  this  very  author,  a  distemper  also  broke  out  in 
the  same  year,  which  desolated  this  southern  part  of 
the  kingdom,  till  1488.  "  This  year,"  says  he,  "  was 
quite  out  of  the  common  order  of  nature  in  Andalusia, 
being,  on  the  contrary,  marked  with  a  great  and  gene- 
ral pestilence,  which  occasioned  an  extreme  mortality 
in  all  the  cities,  towns,  and  villages.  In  Seville,  more 
than  fifteen  thousand  persons  died,  and  in  Cordova  the 
same  number;  and  Xerez  and  Ecija  lost  each  from 
eight  to  nine  thousand,  and  the  other  towns  and  villages 
in  the  same  proportion."  He  afterwards  adds,  "that  a 
similar  distemper  returned  with  more  or  less  activity, 
till  at  last  it  raged  with  great  fury,  causing  the  same 
destruction  and  ravages  as  in  the  first.  Thus  ominous 
were  the  auspices  under  which  the  re-organized  Inqui 
aitioi.  hoi^ted  its  bloody  standard." 


THE    INQUISITIl  N.  31 

Others  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  "  By  di- 
vers ways  and  means,"  says  Bernaldez, 
Inquisitors  began  to  arrest  men  and  women, 
the  most  guilty,  as  well  as  the  most  honour- 
able, some  from  among  the  magistrates,  ju- 
rists, bachelors,  and  lawyers,  and  also  men 
of  great  reputation.  These  they  sentenced 
to  be  burnt  with  fire,  and  brought  for  th^ 
first  time,  to  be  consumed  on  the  platform, 
(a  burning  place  which  they  had  constructed 
in  a  field  ui  the  vicinity  of  the  city,)  six  men 
and  women,  whom  they  cast  into  the  flames. 
A  few  days  afterwards  they  burnt  three  of 
the  principal,  that  is,  the  richest,  persons  in 
the  city,  viz :  Diego  de  Susan,  a  great  rabbin, 
whose  property  was  said  to  be  worth  ten 
millions  ;  the  others  were  Manuel  Sauli,  and 
Bartholomew  Toralva.  Pedro  Fernandez 
Benedeba,  steward  of  the  church  of  the  dean 
and  chapter,  was  next  arrested,  who  was 
one  of  the  principal  of  them,  and  had  in  his 
house  arms  to  equip  a  hundred  men  ;  also 
Juan  Fernandez  Abak^sia,  who  had  long 
been  a  chief  justice,  and  was  a  great  lawyer, 
as  well  as  many  other  principal  persons,  and 
very  rich,  whom  they  also  burnt.  At  this 
all  the  confessed  heretics  were  alarmed,  and 
cast  into  great  consternation,  and  fled  from 
the  city  and  archbishopric  ;  but  an  injunc- 
tion was  laid  for  no  one  to  abscond  from  Se- 
ville under  the  penalty  of  death,  and  guards 
were  placed  at  the  gates  of  the  city ;  in  short, 
they  ar-eFted   so  many,  that  there   was  no 


32  HISTORY    OP 

place  to  put  them  in,  and  many  fit  J  to  the 
estates  of  lords,  to  Portugal,  and  to  the  coun- 
try of  the  Moors."* 

This  persecution  of  the  Jews  and  Moors 
at  Seville,  was  followed  in  every  other  pro- 
vince of  the  kingdom  of  Spain.  Encouraged 
by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the  Inquisitors 
daily  dragged  several  miserable  victims  before 
their  tribunal ;  and  summarily  consigned  to 
the  rack  all  whom  they  suspected,  and  to 

*  "In  this  same  burning  place  of  Seville,"  says 
Paigblanch,  "  which  the  Inquisition  used  for  the  first 
time  in  1481,  on  the  persons  of  six  men  and  women  of 
the  Jewish  persuasion,  the  tribunal  performed  its  last 
tragedy  in  1782,  by  the  execution  of  a  woman  for  being 
a  Molinist.  Persons  who  were  there  present,  relate, 
that  the  prisoner  was  placed  on  a  raised  platform,  sus- 
tained by  four  beams,  resting  on  the  four  pillars  ;  that 
these,  and  the  works  which  served  as  a  base,  were 
adorned  with  a  lining  painted  black,  on  which  were 
seen  the  usual  fooleries,  of  dragons  and  devils  in  white, 
and  on  the  tops  of  which  were  four  figures  in  peniten- 
tial garments  ;  finally,  that  the  prisoner,  after  being 
strangled,  (she  had  been  converted  while  going  to  the 
place  of  execution,  and  therefore  met  with  this  favour!) 
was  burnt,  together  wath  the  whole  platform  and  frame, 
for  which  purpose,  barrels  of  pitch,  faggots  of  vine- 
cuttings,  and  a  large  quantity  of  wood,  had  been  placed 
underneath.  The  above  six  followers  of  the  Jewish 
rites,  (who  were  put  to  death  in  1481)  were  executed, 
according  to  Pedro  de  Torres,  canon  of  Calahorra,  and 
also  a  cotemporary  author,  on  the  10th  of  January,  as 
well  as  seventeen  others  on  the  26ih  of  March,  and  a 
great  many  more  on  the  21st  of  April;  those  who  died 
up  to  the  4th  of  November,  amounting  to  two  hundred 
and  ninety-eight;  and  besides  seventy-nine  others 
were  condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment." 


THE    INQUISITION.  33 

the  flames  those  whom  they  pretended  to 
have  convicted,  of  still  adhering  to  the  Jewish 
faith.  But  even  this  was  not  enough.  In 
1482,  the  Inquisitors  appointed  a  particular 
time  for  all  the  Jews  to  appear  before  them, 
and  make  confession  of  their  errors.  Alarmed 
for  their  safety,  seventeen  thousand  appeared 
on  the  day  appointed,  who  having  pretended 
to  embrace  the  Christian  religion,  were  par- 
doned. But  many  others  refusing  to  act  in 
the  same  hypocritical  manner,  were  seized 
and  lodged  in  prison.  Having  been  put  to 
the  most  excruciating  tortures,  numbers  of 
these  unhappy  persons  abjured  Judaism,  and 
were  consigned  to  the  flames,  some  of  them 
acknowledging  Christ,  and  others  calling  on 
the  name  of  Moses  !  Such  indeed  was  the 
Satanic  zeal  which  animated  the  Inquisitors, 
that  in  the  short  space  of  forty  years  after 
the  Inquisition  had  been  established  in  Se- 
ville, four  thousand  persons  were  burnt  in 
that  bishopric  alone  !  A  hundred  thousand 
were  reconciled  and  banished  in  Andalusia;* 
and  the  bones  of  multitudes,  which  were  dug 
out  of  their  graves,  were  burnt,  their  pro- 
perty confiscated,  and  their  children  disin- 
herited. 

In  1483  the  famous,  or  rather  infamous, 
Thomas  de  Torquemada  was  appointed  In- 
quisitor-general of  Arragon, — a  man  every 

•  More  than  five  thousand  houses  remained  shut  in 
Andalusia,  whose  inhabitants  had  been  exterminated, 
in  one  way  or  another,  b'-  the  Inquisition. 


34  HISTORY    OP 

way  fitted  for  increasing  the  prerogati\  es  and 
revenues  of  the  holy  office.  He  first  created 
four  inferior  tribunals — at  Seville,  Cordova, 
Jaen,  and  Villa  Real;  and  then  persuaded 
Ferdinand  to  create  a  royal  council  of  Inqui- 
sition, at  the  head  of  which  was  placed  Tor- 
quemada  himself,  who  was  assisted  by  two 
eminent  counsellors.  In  order  to  arrange 
laws  for  the  new  council,  Torquemada  con- 
voked a  junta,  composed  of  the  Inquisitors 
of  the  four  tribunals  above  mentioned,  the 
two  assistants,  and  the  members  of  the  royal 
council.  This  assembly  was  held  at  Seville 
in  1484,  and  published  a  code  of  laws  con- 
sisting of  twenty-eight  articles,  *  which  were 
the  first  laws  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition. 
The  tyranny,  extortion,  and  cruelty  of  the 
various  tribunals,  excited .  the  indignation  of 
the  Jews,  and  plans  were  formed,  in  Arragon 
especially,  to  assassinate  the  Inquisitors,  and 
free  the  country  from  their  iniquitous  yoke. 
These  plans,  however,  being  frustrated,  still 
greater  cruelties  were  inflicted  on  that  un- 
happy people.  From  time  to  time  additional 
laws  were  made,  all  tending  to  abridge  the 
liberty  of  the  people,  and  to  advance  the 
authority,  and  increase  the  revenues  of  the 
Inquisition.  The  severity  of  these  laws  obli- 
ged more  than  a  hundred  thousand  families 
to  emigrate  to  other  kingdoms. 

In  order  to  avert  the  danger  which  threat 

*  See  Appendix,  No  I. 


THE    INQUISITION.  3.^ 

ened  them,  the  Jews  in  14.92,  offered  to  sup- 
ply Ferdinand  with  thirty  thousand  pieces  of 
silver  to  assist  Jiim  in  his  wars ;  they  also 
promised  to  live  peaceably,  to  comply  with 
the  regulations  which  had  been  formed  for 
them,  in  retiring  to  their  houses  in  the  quar- 
ters assigned  to  them  before  night,  and  in  re- 
nouncing all  professions  which  were  reserved 
for  the  Christians.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
were  willing  to  listen  to  these  propositions ; 
but  Torquemada,  being  informed  of  their 
inclinations,  had  the  audacity  to  appear  be- 
fore them  with  a  crucifix  in  his  hand,  and  to 
address  them  in  these  words  : — "  Judas  sold 
his  master  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  your 
highnesses  are  about  to  do  the  same  for  thirty 
thousand  ;  behold  him,  take  him,  and  hasten 
to  sell  him  !"  The  fanaticism  of  Torque- 
mada wrought  so  sudden  a  change  in  the 
minds  of  the  sovereigns,  that  they  immedi- 
ately issued  a  decree,  by  which  all  the  Jews 
were  compelled  to  quit  Spain  before  the  end 
of  the  following  July,  on  pain  of  death.  In 
consequence  of  this  decree,  all  the  Jews  and 
Moors  either  fled  or  were  banished  from 
Spain.  *     The  greater  part  of  them  took  re- 

*  A  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  families  are  said 
to  have  left  Spain  at  this  period.  Nay,  some  writers 
make  the  number  of  expatriated  Jews  to  amount  to 
eight  hundred  thousand  persons,  whose  immense  riches 
were  distributed  among  their  persecutors.  If  the  Moors, 
who  emigrated  to  Africa,  are  added  to  the  number, Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella  lost  two  millions  of  subjects  by 
thes/?  cruel  measures 


36  HISTORY    OF 

fiige  in  Portugal,  where  they  suffered  cruel- 
ties little  short  of  those  from  which  they  had 
just  escaped. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Inquisition  was  not, 
however,  confined  to  the  Jews  and  Moors, 
but  extended  to  all  those  who  in  their  opinions 
or  practice  differed  from  the  Church  of  Rome 
The  insolent  Torquemada  even  subjected 
bishops  to  trial,  and  actually  procured  the 
condemnation  of  Don  Pedro,  bishop  of  Cala- 
horra,  under  the  usual  pretence  of  being  a 
heretic.  This  fanatic,  who  was  the  first  In- 
quisitor-general of  Spain,  died  in  1498. — 
"  The  miseries  which  were  the  consequences 
of  the  system  which  he  adopted,"  says 
Llorente,  "  and  recommended  to  his  succes- 
sors, justify  the  general  hatred  which  followed 
him  to  the  tomb,  and  compelled  him  to  take 
precautions  for  his  personal  safety.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  many  should  have  conspired 
against  his  life,  when  his  cruel  administration 
is  considered ;  the  Pope  himself  was  alarmed 
at  his  barbarity,  and  the  complaints  which 
were  made  against  him ;  and  Torquemada 
was  obliged  to  send  his  colleague,  Antonio 
Badoja,  three  times  to  Rome,  to  defend  him 
against  the  accusations  of  his  enemies." 

Don  Diego  Deza,  a  Dominican,  succeeded 
Torquemada  as  Inquisitor-general  in  Decem- 
ber 1498.  No  less  cruel  than  his  predecessor, 
Deza,  during  the  period  of  eight  years,  pun- 
ished thirty-eight  thousand  four  hundred  and 
forty  individuals ;  two  thousand  five  hundred 


THE    INQUISITION.  37 

and  ninety-two  of  whom  were  burnt  in  per- 
son, eight  hundred  and  ninety-six  in  efiigy, 
and  thirty-four  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
fifty-two  were  condenrnied  to  different  pe- 
naces.  The  audacity  of  this  tyrant  rose  at 
length  to  such  a  height,  that  Philip  I.  who 
then  filled  the  throne,  ordered  Deza,  in  1506, 
to  retire  to  his  archbishopric  of  Seville,  and 
to  invest  another  in  his  room.  But  unhap- 
pily for  Spain,  the  death  of  the  king  that  same 
year,  restored  Deza  to  his  office,  which  so  ter- 
rified the  inhabitants  of  Cordova,  that  they 
rose  in  a  tumult,  broke  open  the  prisons  of 
the  Inquisition,  and  liberated  an  immense 
number  of  prisoners.  These  events  alarmed 
the  Inquisitor-general  to  such  a  degree,  that 
he  resigned  his  office,  which  immediately  re- 
stored tranquility  in  Cordova. 

Two  new  Inquisitors  were  now  appointed, 
namely,  Ximenes  de  Cisneros  for  Castile,  and 
Don  Juan  Enguera  for  Arragon.  The  for- 
mer of  these  prelates,  considering  it  unneces- 
sary to  have  as  many  Inquisitorial  tribunals 
as  there  were  bishoprics,  "  established  the  In- 
quisition at  Seville,  Cordova,  Jaen,  Toledo, 
in  Estremadura,  at  Murcia,  Valladolid,  and 
Calahorra,  and  appointed  the  e.vtent  of  terri- 
tory for  the  jurisdiction  of  each  tribunal ;  he 
also  sent  Inquisitors  to  the  Canary  isles.  In 
1513,  the  Inquisition  was  introduced  at  Cu- 
nga  ;  in  1524,  at  Grenada  ;  under  Philip  II. 
at  Santiago  de  Galicia  ;  and  under  Philip  IV. 
at  Madrid.  Cisneros  also  judged  it  neces- 
4 


38 


HISTORY    OF 


sary,  in  1516,  to  hai^e  a  tribunal  at  Oran,  and 
soon  after  in  America.  The  Inquisitor-gene- 
ral of  Arragon  adopted  the  same  system,  and 
sent  Inquisitors  to  Saragossa,  Barcelona, 
Valencia,  Majorca,  Sardinia,  and  Sicily." 
Ximenes  was  eleven  years  at  the  head  of  the 
Inquisition,  during  which  period,  fifty-two 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-five  persons 
were  condemned  ;  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four  of  whom  were  burnt  in 
person,  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  in  effigy,  and  forty-eight  thousand  and 
fifty-nine  sufiered  various  other  kinds  of  pun- 
ishment. 

Numerous  attempts  were  made  both  by  the 
Cortes  and  the  people,  during  the  reign  of 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  to  obtain  a  reform 
of  the  "  holy  office  :"  but  all  their  efforts 
were  of  no  avail.  Adrian,  the  successor  of 
Ximenes,  who  was  Inquisitor-general  only 
for  five  years,  condemned  no  fewer  than  two 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  and  twenty-five 
individuals  ;  and  the  yoke  of  that  monstrous 
institution,  instead  of  being  made  lighter, 
was  daily  rendered  more  galling. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation, 
the  most  strenuous  efforts  were  made  by  the 
Inquisitors  to  check  its  progress,  and  various 
methods  were  taken  to  prevent  the  circula- 
tion of  the  Reformer's  works,  and  especially 
the  Bible,  among  the  people.  In  1522  the 
Pone  enjoined  the  governors  of  Castile  to 
^?>"vent  the  works  of  Luthe"  from  being  in- 


THE    INQUISiriON.  39 

troduced  into  the  kingdom  ;  and  orders  were 
given  to  the  Inqnisitors  to  seize  and  bnrn  ail 
such  obnoxious  pubUcations!  The  Emperor 
Charles  V.  commissioned  the  University  of 
Louvain  to  form  a  list  of  dangerous  books,  a 
measure  which  was  cordially  approved  of  by 
the  Pope,  in  a  bull  which  he  issued  on  this 
subject,  in  1539.  "  The  Index  was  published 
in  1546,"  says  Llorente,  "  by  the  University 
in  all  the  states  of  Flanders,  six  years  after  a 
decree  had  been  issued  to  prohibit  the  writings 
of  Luther  from  being  read  or  bought,  on  pain 
of  death.  In  1549,  the  Inquisitor-general, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil, added  some  new  works  to  the  list  of  those 
which  had  been  prohibited,  and  addressed 
two  ordinances  to  the  Inquisitors,  enjoining 
them  in  the  first,  not  to  allow  any  person  to 
possess  them,  and  in  the  second,  commanding 
the  consultors  of  the  holy  office  neither  to 
read  nor  keep  them,  though  the  execution  of 
the  decrees  might  throw  them  into  their 
hands.  In  1546,  the  Emperor  commanded 
the  University  of  Louvain  to  publish  the 
Index,  with  additions.  This  work  appeared 
in  1550,  and  the  prince  remitted  it  to  the  In- 
quisitor-general, and  it  was  printed  by  the 
order  of  the  Supreme  Council,  with  a  supple- 
ment composed  of  books  prohibited  in  Spain  . 
some  time  after  the  Council  framed  anothei 
Index,  which  was  certified  by  the  secretary. 
All  the  Inquisitions  received  copies,  and  a 
bull  from  Julius  III.   rhich  renewed  the  pro- 


40  HISTORY  or 

hibitions  and  revoked  the  permissions  con- 
trary to  the  new  bulls  :  he  charged  the  Inqui- 
sitors to  seize  as  many  books  as  they  could  ; 
to  piblish  prohibiting  edicts,  accompanied 
by  censures ;  to  prosecute  those  who  did  not 
obey  them,  as  suspected  of  heresy ;  and  to 
give  an  account  of  the  books  which  they  had 
read  and  preserved.  The  Pope  added,  that 
he  was  informed  that  a  great  number  were 
in  the  possession  of  librarians  and  private 
persons,  particularly  Spanish  Bibles  men- 
tioned in  the  catalogue." 

Nor  were  the  Inquisitors  dilatory  in  obey- 
ing the  injunctions  of  his  Holiness,  and  of 
their  superstitious  monarch.  In  1558,  the 
Inquisitor-general  pubhshed  a  very  severe 
edict  against  all  who  should  retain  a  single 
volume  of  any  of  the  works  proscribed. 
Every  Bible  was  ordered  to  be  strictly  ex- 
amined ;  nay,  the  professors  in  the  Univer- 
sity were  compelled,  on  pain  of  excommu- 
nication, to  give  up  their  Hebrew  and  Greek 
Bibles  to  the  commissaries  of  the  Inquisition ; 
and  even  works  on  medicine  were  seized, 
although  they  were  not  mentioned  in  the  In- 
dex. 

In  1558,  Philip  II.  issued  a  most  sangui- 
nary law  against  all  "  who  should  sell,  buy, 
keep,  or  read,  any  of  the  books  prohibited 
by  the  Holy  Office" — a  law  which  not  only 
affected  the  property,  but  the  lives  of  those 
who  darei  to  infringe  it.  From  that  period 
till  the  pi  'sent,  the  utmost  vigilance  has  been 


THE    INQUISITION.  41 

exercised  by  the  Spanish  Inquisition  lo  pre- 
vent the  people  from  seeing  any  work,  wliich, 
in  the  plenitude  of  its  usurped  authority,  it 
has  declared  to  be  heretical.  The  Index  was 
from  time  to  time  either  revised  or  renewed, 
and  the  utmost  care  was  taken  to  prevent  the 
circulation  of  the  word  of  God,  unless  that 
word  was  disfigured  and  corrupted  by  the 
votaries  of  Rome. 

But  it  was  not  the  works  of  the  Protestants 
only,  which  were  obnoxious  to  the  Inquisi- 
tion. Their  persons  were  equally  hateful, 
and  not  long  after  the  commencement  of  the 
Reformation,  many  of  the  followers  of  Zuin- 
glius  and  Luther  were  committed  to  the 
flames  by  the  lords  of  the  "  Holy  Inquisi- 
tion." The  Emperor  Charles  V.  so  decidedly 
seconded  all  their  endeavours  to  extirpate 
heresy,  that,  having  with  great  difficulty  in- 
troduced the  Inquisition  into  the  Netherlands, 
he  bequeathed  in  his  will  the  care  of  that  in- 
famous tribunal  to  his  son  Philip  II.,  in  the 
words  following :  "  Out  of  regard  to  my  duty 
to  Almighty  God,  and  from  my  great  affec- 
tion to  the  most  serene  prince,  Philip  II.,  my 
dearest  son,  and  from  the  strong  and  earnest 
desire  I  have,  that  he  may  be  safe  under  the 
protection  of  virtue,  rather  than  the  great- 
ness of  his  riches,  I  charge  him,  with  the 
greatest  affection  of  soul,  that  he-  take  espe- 
cial care  of  all  things  relating  to  the  honour 
and  glory  of  God,  as  becomes  the  most 
Catholic  king,  and  a  prince  zealous  for  the 
4* 


42  HISTORY    OF 

divin*  ornmands;  and  that  he  be  always 
obedient  to  the  commands  of  our  Holy- 
Mother,  the  Church.  And,  amongst  other 
things,  this  I  principally  and  most  ardently 
recommend  to  him,  highly  to  honour  and 
constantly  to  support  the  office  of  the  holy 
Inquisition,  as  constituted  by  God  against 
lieretical  pravity,  with  its  ministers  and  offi- 
cials, because  by  this  single  remedy  the  most 
grievous  offences  against  God  can  be  reme- 
died. Also,  I  command  him,  that  he  would 
be  careful  to  preserve  to  all  churches,  and 
ecclesiastical  persons,  their  immunities.''  And 
again, "  I  ardently  desire,  and  with  the  great- 
est possible  earnestness  beseech  him,  and 
command  him  by  his  regards  to  me,  his  most 
afiectionate  father,  that  in  this  matter,  in 
which  the  welfare  of  all  Spain  is  concerned, 
he  be  most  zealously  careful  to  punish  all  in- 
fected with  heresy,  with  the  severity  due 
to  their  crimes,  and  that,  to  this  intent,  he 
confer  the  greatest  honours  on  the  office  of 
the  holy  Inquisition,  by  the  care  of  which 
the  Catholic  faith  will  be  increased  in  his 
kingdoms,  and  the  Christian  religion  pre- 
served." 

Philip  was  possessed  of  a  temper  haughty 
and  cruel,  and  gave  full  proof  of  his  zeal  to 
obey  his  father's  commands.  He  conferred 
new  powers  on  the  Inquisitors  throughout 
the  Netherlands,  and  published  the  most 
sanguinary  edicts  against  all  who  maintained 
or  e''(  n  seemed  to  favour  th^.  Protestant  doc- 


THE    INQUISITION.  43 

triiiGs.  Ill  vain  did  the  states  A  the  Low 
Countries  remonstrate  against  the  Inquisition 
being  ^stabUshed  among  them.  Having  taken 
an  oatl:  to  devote  the  whole  of  his  reign  to 
the  defence  of  Popery,  that  cruel  and  super- 
stitious monarch  haughtily  replied,  "  that  he 
would  be  rather  no  king  at  all,  than  have 
heretics  for  his  subjects."  Notwithstanding 
his  obstinacy,  however,  he  ultimately  failed 
in  his  attempts  to  force  the  Low  Countries  to 
receive  the  Inquisition.  The  Flemings  per- 
sisted in  opposing  every  thing  resembling 
that  cruel  tribunal,  and  their  resistance  was 
the  cause  of  long  and  bloody  wars,  which  ex- 
hausted the  treasures  and  armies  of  Spain 
during  half  a  century,  and  eventually  ended 
in  favour  of  the  people. 

But  it  was  not  in  the  Low  Countries  only 
that  Philip  showed  himself  the  patron  of  the 
Inquisition.  In  Spain  he  not  only  supported, 
but  urged  on  its  "  ministers  and  officials"  to 
the  commission  of  the  most  appalling  deeds 
of  cruelty.  On  the  18th  of  October,  1559,  an 
auto-da-fe*  was  celebrated  at  Valladolid,  at 
which  Philip  himself  was  present,  and  gave 
most  unequivocal  proofs  of  his  zeal  in  defence 
of  the  prerogatives  of  that  tribunal.     The  In- 

*  An  auto-da-fc^,  or  "act  of  faith,"  of  which  a  more 
particular  account  will  be  given  afterwards,  is  the 
burning  of  those  persons  whom  the  Inquisitors  are 
pleased  to  pronounce  defective  in  their  belief  of  any  of 
the  articles  of  faith  commanded  to  be  believed  by  the 
Popish  a  in  h. 


44  HISTORY    OP 

quisitor-general  having  demanded  (  f  the  king 
to  continue  to  tliem  his  support,  in  these 
words,  "  Lord,  continue  to  help  us ;"  Philip 
grasped  his  sword,  and  unsheathed  part  of  it, 
to  intimate  his  readiness  at  all  times  to  obey 
the  mandates  of  these  ghostly  fathers, — a 
pledge,  which,  alas  !  he  more  than  faithfully 
fulfilled.*     The  horrid  ceremony  of  putting 

*  To  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  sermons,  or 
rather  blasphemous  rhapsodies,  which  the  friars  deliver 
at  an  auto-da-fe,  the  following  extracts  are  given  from 
one  which  was  preached  on  this  occasion  before  Philip 
at  Valladolid.  "And  thou,  oh !  most  holy  tribunal  of 
the  faith,  for  boundless  ages  mayest  thou  be  preserved, 
so  as  to  keep  us  firm  and  pure  in  the  same  faith,  and 
promote  the  punishment  of  the  enemies  of  God.  Of 
thee  can  I  say  what  the  Holy  Spirit  said  of  the  Church, 
'  Thou  art  fair,  my  love,  as  the  tents  of  Kedar,  as  the 
curtains  of  Solomon  !'  But  what  parallels,  similes,  or 
comparisons  are  these  1  What  praise,  or  what  height- 
ened contrast  can  that  be  which  compares  a  delicate 
female,  an  unequalled  beauty,  to  the  tents  of  Kedar,  and 
the  spotted  skins  of  Solomon  1  Saint  Jerome  dis- 
covered the  mystery,  and  says,  that  the  people  of  Kedar 
being  fond  of  the  chase,  therein  took  great  delight;  and, 
for  this  purpose,  had  always  their  tents  pitched  in  the 
field;  on  which,  in  order  to  prove  the  valour  of  their 
arms,  they  spread  the  skins  of  the  animals  killed  in 
chase,  and  hung  up  the  heads  of  the  wild  beasts  they 
had  slain.  This  was  the  greatest  beauty  of  their  tents; 
to  this  the  Holy  Spirit  compares  the  beauty  of  the 
Church,  and  this  is  also  to-day  the  glory  of  the  holy 
tribunal  of  the  faith.  To  have  killed  these  horrid  wild 
beasts  and  enemies  of  God,  whom  we  now  behold  on 
this  theatre,  some  by  taking  life  from  their  errors,  re- 
conciling them  to  our  holy  faith,  and  inspiring  them 
with  contrition  for  their  faults: ;  others  by  condemning 
them  through  their  obduracy  to  'he  flames,  where  losing 


THE    INQUISITION.  45 

to  death  twenty-eight  faithful  followers  of  the 
Redeemer,  was  condacted  with  great  apparent 
solemnity,  Philip,  his  son,  and  courtiers,  sit- 
ting within  sight  of  the  prisoners.  Among 
the  Protestants  condemned,  there  was  a  noble- 
man of  the  name  of  Don  Carlos  Sessa,  who, 
when  the  executioners  were  conducting  him 
to  the  stake,  called  to  the  king  for  mercy, 
saying,  "And  canst  thou,  0  king!  witness  the 
torments  of  thy  subjects  ?  Save  us  from  this 
cruel  death  ;  we  do  not  deserve  it."  "  No," 
replied  Philip,  sternly,  "I  would  myself  carry 
wood  to  burn  my  own  son,  were  he  such  a 
wretch  as  thou  !"*  After  which  he  beheld 
the  bloody  spectacle  that  followed,  with  a 
composure  which  showed  that  he  possessed 
a  heart  destitute,  not  only  of  Christian  feel- 
ing, but  of  the  least  spark  of  humanity. 

No  fewer  than  eighty  individuals,  profess- 
ing the  Protestant  religion,  having  been  dis- 
covered in  Seville,  were  all  committed  to 
the  flames,  in  companies  of  fifteen  or  twenty. 
In  1560,  the  same  punishment  was  inflicted 
on  many  other  eminent  persons,  who,  at  the 

Iheir  corporeal  lives,  their  obstinate  souls  will  immedi- 
ately burn  in  hell;  by  this  means  God  will  be  avenged 
()f  iiis  greatest  enemies,  dread  will  follow  these  ex- 
amples, and  the  holy  tribunal  will  remain  trium- 
phant," &c. 

*  Pnilip  was  afterwards  as  good  as  his  word.  TJnder 
the  plea  of  religion  he  caused  the  Inquisition  to  insti- 
tute proceedings  against  his  eldest  son  Charles;  and  in 
the  most  unnatural  and  cowardly  manner  procured  his 
death  in  a  secret  manner  by  means  of  poison. 


46  HISTORY    OP 

place  of  execution,  justly  upbndded  their 
judges  with  their  ignorance  and  hardness  of 
heart,  and  "resisted  even  unto  blood,''  all 
the  efforts  of  their  persecutors  to  bring  them 
again  under  the  yoke  of  antichristian  bon- 
dage. Among  the  sufferers  on  this  occasion 
were  eight  females,  of  irreproachable  charac- 
ter, and  some  of  them  distinguished  by  their 
rank  and  education,  who  were  condemned  to 
the  most  cruel  death  by  their  unhallowed 
judges.  The  most  distinguished  of  these 
martyrs  was  Maria  Gomez,  who  appeared  on 
the  scaffold  along  with  her  three  daughters 
and  a  niece.  After  the  reading  of  the  sen- 
tence which  doomed  them  to  the  flames,  one 
of  the  young  women  went  up  to  her  aunt, 
from  whom  she  had  imbibed  the  Protestant 
doctrine,  and,  on  her  knees,  thanked  her  for 
all  the  religious  instructions  she  had  received 
from  her,  implored  her  forgiveness  for  any 
offence  she  might  have  given  her,  and  begged 
her  dying  blessing.  Raising  her  up,  and  as- 
suring her  that  she  had  never  given  her  a 
moment's  uneasiness,  the  old  woman  pro- 
ceeded to  encourage  her  dutiful  niece,  by  re- 
minding her  of  that  support  which  their 
Divine  Redeemer  had  promised  them  in  the 
hour  of  trial,  and  of  those  joys  which  awaited 
them  at  the  termination  of  their  momentary 
sufferings.  The  five  friends  then  took  leave 
of  one  another  with  tender  embraces,  and 
words  of  mutual  comfort.  The  interview  be- 
rween  these  devoted  females  was  beheld  by 


THE    INQUISITION.  47 

ilie  members  of  tlie  "holy  tribunal"  with  a 
rigid  composure  of  countenance,  undisturbed 
even  by  a  glance  of  displeasure  ;  and  so  com- 
pletely had  superstition  and  habit  subdued 
the  strongest  emotions  of  the  human  breast, 
that  not  a  single  expression  of  sympathy  es- 
caped from  the  multitude  at  witnessing  a 
scene  which  in  other  circumstances  would 
have  harrowed  up  the  feelings  of  the  specta- 
tors, and  driven  them  into  mutiny.  These, 
and  numerous  other  sufferers,  not  only  in 
Spain,  but  in  every  country  of  Europe  where 
this  tribunal  had  been  erected,  "  counted  not 
their  lives  dear  unto  them,"  but  rejoiced, 
amidst  torments  the  most  agonizing,  and  in  a 
death  the  most  dreadful,  that  they  were  "con- 
sidered worthy  to  suffer"  for  their  Redeem- 
er's sakp. 

The  zeal  of  Philip  was  equally  conspicu- 
ous in  Portugal.  Having  ascended  the  throne 
of  that  kingdom  in  1580,  at  a  period  when 
the  office  of  Inquisitor-general  was  vacant, 
Philip  wished  to  place  the  Inquisition  of 
Portugal  under  the  dominion  of  that  of  Spain. 
Though  this  attempt  was  unsuccessful,  yet 
numerous  acts  of  cruelty  were  committed 
during  the  reign  of  that  monarch,  on  those 
who  dissented,  or  were  suspected  to  dissent, 
from  the  received  doctrines  of  the  Popish 
Church. 

Under  the  protection  of  Phihp,  the  Inquisi- 
tion flourished  also  in  Sicily  and  Malta.  The 
audacity  of  the.  Inquisitors  in  Sicily  had  form- 


48  HISTORY    OP 

erly  raised  a  rebellion,  which  was  not  quelled 
without  the  greatest  difficulty.  Depending, 
however,  on  the  court  of  Madrid,  and  sup- 
posing that  all  fear  of  the  rebellion  had 
ceased,  the  Inquisitors  of  Sicily  celebrated  an 
auto-da-fe  in  1546,  in  which  four  persons 
were  burnt  in  effigy.  Similar  ceremonies 
took  place  in  1549  and  1551.  The  Inquisi- 
tors now  became  as  insolent  as  formerly,  and 
treated  the  Sicilians  of  all  ranks  with  so 
much  severity,  thai  a  new  rebellion  was  rais 
ed  in  Palermo.  The  viceroy  succeeded  in 
restoring  tranquillity,  and  the  Inquisitors, 
while  under  the  influence  of  fear,  were  for 
some  time  more  moderate,  celebrating  their 
autos-da-fe  privately  in  the  hall  of  the  tribu- 
nal. 

In  regard  to  Malta,  again,  when  that 
island  belonged  to  the  Spanish  monarchy,  it 
was  subject  to  the  Inquisition  of  Sicily  ;  "  but 
when  it  was  given  to  the  knights  of  Jerusa- 
lem," says  Llorente,  "  it  would  have  been 
contrary  to  the  dignity  of  the  grand-master, 
to  permit  the  exercise  of  foreign  jurisdiction 
in  it,  after  having  received  that  of  ecclesias- 
tical power  from  the  Pope.  A  man  was  ar- 
rested in  the  island  as  a  heretic,  and  the 
Inquisition  of  Sicily  took  informations  on  the 
aff'air.  The  grand-master  wrote  to  demand 
them  ;  the  Inquisitors  consulted  the  council 
which  directed  them,  in  1575,  not  only  to 
refuse  them,  but  to  claim  the  prisoner.  The 
grand-master  resolved  to  defend   his   privi- 


THE    INQTTIsn    ON.  49 

.eges,  (Aused  the  man  to  be  tried  in  the 
island,  and  he  was  acquitted.  This  act  dis- 
pleased the  Inquisitors,  who,  to  revenge 
themselves,  took  advantage  of  an  occurrence 
which  took  place  in  the  following  year.  Don 
Pedro  de  la  Roca,  a  Spaniard,  and  a  knight 
of  Malta,  killed  the  first  alguazil  of  the  Sici 
lian  Inquisition,  in  the  city  of  Messina.  He 
was  arrested  and  conducted  to  the  secret 
prisons  of  the  holy  office.  The  grand-mas 
ter  claimed  his  knight,  as  he  alone  had  a 
right  to  try  him.  The  council  being  con 
suited,  commanded  the  Inquisitors  to  con- 
demn and  punish  the  accused  as  a  homicide 
The  Inquisitor-general  communicated  this 
resolution  to  Philip  II.,  who  wrote  to  the 
grand-master  to  terminate  the  dispute." 

"  The  quarrels  between  the  secular  pow- 
ers and  the  Inquisition,"  continues  the  same 
author,  "  were  not  less  violent  in  Sicily.  In 
1580  and  1597,  attempts  were  made  to  ap- 
pease them,  but  without  success ;  and  in 
1606,  the  Sicihans  had  the  mortification  of 
seeing  their  viceroy,  the  Duke  de  Frias,  con- 
stable of  Castile,  prosecuted  and  subjected  to 
their  censures.  In  1592,  the  Duke  of  Alva, 
who  was  then  viceroy,  endeavoured  by  in- 
direct means  to  repress  the  insolence  of  the 
Inquisitors.  Perceiving  that  the  nobility  of 
all  classes  were  enrolled  among  the  familiars 
of  the  holy  office,  in  order  to  enjoy  its  pri- 
vileges, and  to  keep  the  people  in  greater 
order,  he  represented  to  the  king,  that  the 
5 


50  HISTORY    OP 

power  of  the  sovereign  and  the  authority  of 
his  Ueutenant  were  almost  null,  and  would 
be  entirely  so  in  timt,  if  these  different 
classes  continued  to  eujoy  privileges  which 
had  the  effect  of  neutralizing  the  measures  of 
government.  Charles  II.  acknowledged  that 
this  state  of  things  was  contrary  to  the  dig- 
nity of  his  crown,  and  he  decreed  that  no 
parson  employed  by  the  king  should  possess 
th  )se  prerogatives,  even  if  he  was  a  familiar 
or  officer  of  the  inquisition.  The  people  then 
began  to  feel  less  respect  for  the  tribunal,  and 
this  was  the  commencement  of  its  decline. 
In  1713,  Sicily  no  longer  formed  a  part  of 
the  Spanish  dominions,  and  Charles  de  Bour- 
bon, in  1739,  obtained  a  bull,  which  created 
an  Inquisitor-general  for  that  country,  inde- 
pendent of  Spain;  and  in  1782,  Ferdinand 
IV.  who  succeeded  Charles,  suppressed  this 
odious  tribunal. 

Not  contented  with  exercising  his  cruelty 
in  every  corner  of  his  dominions,  "  Philip 
estabUshed  the  Inquisition  also  in  the  ships. 
In  1571,  a  large  fleet  having  been  drawn  to- 
gether, under  the  command  of  John  of  Austria, 
and  manned  with  soldiers  of  various  nations, 
Philip,  with  consent  of  Pope  Pius  V.,  to  pre- 
vent any  corruption  of  the  faith,  deputed  one 
of  the  Spanish  Inquisitors  of  Spain,  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  his  office  at  sea  ;  and 
gave  him  power  to  preside  in  all  tribunals, 
and  to  celebrate  "acts  of  faith,"  in  all  places 
and  cities  to  whi  h  they  sailed.     This  erec 


THE    INQUISITION.  51 

lion  of  the  Inquisition  at  sea,  was  coni.rnied 
by  Pins,  in  a  bull  which  he  sent  Id  the  In- 
quisitor-general of  Spain." 

Instances  of  the  conduct  and  cruelty  of  the 
Inquisitors  will  be  afterwards  given,  in  treat- 
ing of  their  manner  of  proceeding  towards  all 
who  are  unhappily  lodged  within  the  walls 
of  their  "  holy,"  or  rather  unholy  edifice. 
In  the  meantime,  we  shall  give  here  the  fol- 
lowing example  of  gross  ignorance  displayed 
by  these  spiritual  guides,  in  their  zeal  to  sup- 
press not  only  true  religion,  but  even  philoso- 
phy and  science,  under  the  pretext  of  labour- 
ing to  extinguish  heresy.  Galileo,  the  chief 
mathematician  and  astronomer  of  his  age, 
was  the  first  who  applied  the  telescope  to 
any  valuable  purpose  in  the  science  of  as- 
tronomy. Having  become  a  convert  to  the 
system  of  Copernicus,  or  what  is  now  called 
the  Newtonian  system,  that  is,  that  the  sun 
is  the  centre  of  motion  to  a  number  of 
planets,  and  among  others  the  earth,  which 
revolve  round  the  sun  at  different  periods, 
GaUleo  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Inquisi- 
tors, was  arraigned  before  their  tribunal,  and 
in  danger  of  being  put  to  death. 

In  order  to  give  the  reader  a  specimen  of 
the  manner  of  drawing  up  a  criminal's  indict- 
ment by  the  lords  of  the  Inquisition,  the  fol- 
lowing amusing  extracts  are  taken  from  the 
libel  against  Galileo  : — "  Whereas  you,  Gali- 
leo, of  Florence,  aged  70,  were  informed 
against  in  the  year  1615,  in  this  holy  office, 


52  HISTORY    OF 

for  maintaining  as  true,  a  certain  false  doc- 
trine, held  by  many,  namely,  that  the  sun  is 
the  centre  of  the  world,  and  immovable,  and 
that  the  earth  moves  round  it  with  a  daily 
motion ;  likewise,  that  you  have  kept  up  a  cor- 
respondence with  certain  German  mathema- 
ticians concerning  the  same  ;  likBwise,  that 
you  have  published  some  letters  concerning 
the  solar  spots,  in  which  you  have  explained 
the  same  doctrine  as  true,  and  that  you  have 
answered  the  objections  which  in  several 
places  were  made  against  you,  from  the  au- 
thority of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  construing 
or  glossing  over  the  said  Scriptures,  according 
to  your  own  opinions  ;  and  finally,  whereas 
the  copy  of  a  writing  under  the  form  of  a  let- 
ter, reported  to  have  been  written  by  you  to 
one  who  was  formerly  your  scholar,  has  been 
shown  to  us,  in  which  you  have  followed  the 
hypothesis  of  Copernicus,  which  contains 
certain  propositions  contrary  to  the  true  sense 
and  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  : — 

"  Now  this  holy  tribunal,  being  desirous  to 
provide  against  the  inconveniences  and  dan- 
gers which  this  statement  may  occasion,  to 
the  detriment  of  the  holy  faith,  by  the  com- 
mand of  the  most  eminent  lords,  &c.  of  the 
Supreme  and  Universal  Inquisition,  have 
caused  the  two  follo\^  ing  propositions  con- 
cerning the  immovabi'ity  of  the  sun,  and  the 
motion  of  the  earth,  o  be  thus  qualified  by 
the  divines,  viz. 

"'  That  the  su  '  is  the  centre  of  the  world, 


THE    INQUISITION.  53 

and  immovable,  with  a  local  motion,  is  an 
absurd  proposition,  false  in  philosophy,  and 
absolutely  heretical,  because  it  is  expressly 
contrary  to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

" '  That  the  earth  is  neither  the  centre  of 
the  world  nor  immovable,  but  that  it  pos- 
sesses a  daily  motion,  is  likewise  an  absurd 
proposition,  false  in  philosophy,  and,  theolo- 
gically considered,  at  least,  erroneous  in  point 
of  faith.' 

"But  as  it  pleased  us  in  the  first  instance, 
to  proceed  kindly  with  you,  it  was  decreed 
in  the  said  Congregation,  held  before  our 
Lord  N.  Feb.  25.  anno.  1616,  that  the  most 
eminent  lord  cardinal  Bellarmine  should  com- 
mand you,  that  you  should  entirely  depart 
from  the  said  false  doctrine,  and  in  case  you 
should  refuse  to  obey  him,  that  you  should 
be  commanded  by  the  commissary  of  the 
Holy  Office  to  abandon  the  same,  and  that 
you  should  neither  teach  it  to  others,  defend 
it,  nor  say  any  thing  concerning  it ;  and  that 
if  you  should  not  submit  to  this  order,  you 
should  be  put  in  jail,"  &c. 

"  Thus,  for  merely  entertaining  and  ex- 
pressing an  opinion  with  regard  to  the  system 
of  the  universe,"  says  an  eminent  modern 
writer,  "  was  the  greatest  philosopher  of  his 
age  subjected  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  jail  of 
the  Inquisition,  which  imprisonment  almost 
necessarily  inferred  the  forfeiture  of  life  by 
means  of  burning  ;  and  if  the  Holy  Inquisi 
tors,  in  their  great  mercy,  werf  pleased  nol 
5* 


54  HISTORY    OP 

to  bum  him  t ;  death,  the  circumstance  of  be- 
ing imprisoned  by  them,  necessarily  inferred 
the  forfeiture  of  all  his  property,  and  the  con- 
signing of  his  name  to  infamy." 

After  a  long  account  of  the  errors  of  Gali- 
leo's writings,  their  condemnation  of  the 
same,  and  their  deahngs  with  the  author,  in 
ordei  to  his  recantation,  the  inquisitors  pro- 
ceed in  the  words  following  : — "  Invoking, 
therefore,  the  most  holy  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  of  his  most  glorious  mother 
Mary,  ever  a  virgin,  we  do,  by  this  our  defi- 
nitive sentence,  &c.  &c.  judge  and  declare, 
that  you  the  said  Galileo,  have,  upon  account 
of  those  things,  which  are  produced  in  the 
written  process,  and  which  you  have  con- 
fessed as  above,  subjected  yourself  to  a  strong 
suspicion  of  heresy  in  this  holy  office,  by  be- 
heving  and  holding  to  be  true  a  doctrine 
which  is  false,  and  contrary  to  the  sacred  and 
divine  Scripture ;  viz.  that  the  sun  is  the 
centre  of  the  orb  of  the  earth,  and  does  not 
move  from  the  east  to  the  west;  and  that 
the  earth  moves,  and  is  not  the  centre  of  the 
world,  and  that  these  things  may  be  con- 
sidered and  defended  as  probable  opinions, 
although  they  have  been  declared  and  deter- 
mined to  be  contrary  to  the  sacred  Scripture ; 
and  consequently  that  you  have  incurred  all 
the  censures  and  penalties  appointed  and  pro- 
mulgated by  the  sacred  canons,  and  other 
general  and  particular  a  Us  against  such 
Dffenders ;  fror.  which  il  is  nu  pleasure  that 


THE    INQUISITION.  55 

you  should  be  absolved,  provided  that  you 
do  first,  with  a  sincere  heart,  and  a  true  faith, 
abjure,  curse,  and  detest,  before  us,  the  afore- 
said errors,  and  heresies,  and  every  other 
error  and  heresy  contrary  to  the  CaihoUc  and 
apostolic  Roman  Church,  in  the  form  which 
shall  be  presented  by  us  to  you." 

In  consequence  of  these  proceedings,  Gali- 
leo, contrary  to  his  conviction,  made  a  formal 
abjuration  of  his  opinions,  swearing  that, 
"  by  the  aid  of  God,  he  would  in  future  be- 
lieve every  thing  which  the  holy  Catholic 
Church  held,  preached,  and  taught.  But 
whereas,"  he  adds,  "  notwithstanding,  after 
I  had  been  legally  enjoined  and  commanded 
by  this  holy  office  to  abandon  wholly  that 
false  opinion,  which  maintains  that  the  sun  is 
the  centre  of  the  universe,  and  immovable — 
I  do,  with  a  sincere  heart,  and  a  true  faith, 
abjure,  curse,  and  detest,  not  only  this  heresy, 
but  every  other  error  and  opinion,  which 
may  be  contrary  to  the  holy  Church ;  and  I 
swear,  that  for  the  future,  I  will  never  more 
say  or  assert,  either  by  word  or  writing,  any 
thing  that  shall  give  occasion  for  a  like  sus- 
picion, and  that  if  I  know  any  heretic,  or 
person  suspected  of  heresy,  I  will  inform 
against  him  to  this  holy  office,  or  to  the  In- 
quisitor, or  ordinary  of  the  place  in  which  I 
shall  then  be.  Sworn  at  Rome,  in  the  con- 
vent of  Minerva,  this  22d  day  of  July,  anno 
1633." 

Thouy')  G  ilileo,  by  lenying  on  oath  what 


56  HISTORY     OP 

he  believed  to  be  true,  appears  here  in  a 
very  contemptible  light,  yet  it  is  evident  that 
ne  had  no  alternative  between  this  and 
suiFering  death.  Had  he  been  actuatsd  by 
Christian  principle,  he  would  rather  have 
died  than  have  sworn  to  a  falsehood,  though 
it  had  been  a  matter  of  no  more  importance 
than  that  two  and  three  make  five.  But  if 
the  philosopher  appears  contemptible  in  this 
matter,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  holy  Church 
of  Rome  (and  of  the  Inquisition,)  that  im- 
posed such  a  hardship  upon  the  wisest  of  her 
children  !  She  appears  not  only  as  the  enemy 
of  truth  and  righteousness,  but  also  as  the 
enemy  of  science  and  literature. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Appointment  of  the  Inquisitors  in  Spain — their  exten- 
sive privileges — procedure  of  the  tribunal  of  the 
"Holy  Office" — eagerness  cf  the  Inquisitors  to  pre- 
serve secrecy  in  all  their  transactions — prisons  of  the 
Inquisition — examination  of  a  culprit — artifice  and 
injustice  practised  by  the  judges  to  induce  a  person 
to  criminate  himself — striking  example  of  their 
duplicity  and  barbarity. 

Having  thus  seen  the  complete  establish- 
ment of  the  Inquisitiorj  in  Spain,  before  pro- 
ceeding further  in  its  history,  ue  shall  give 
an  outline  of  the  mode  of  procedure  in  the 
"  Holy  Office,"  together  with  some  account  of 
the  officers  belonging  to  that  infamous  tribu- 


THE    INQUISITION.  57 

iial.  At  the  head  of  the  Inquisition  in  Spain, 
stands  the  Inquisitor-general.  This  high 
officer  is  appointed  nominally  by  the  king, 
but  in  reality  by  the  Pope,  for  the  Holy  See 
enjoys  the  privilege  of  a  veto  on  the  election 
of  the  sovereign.  The  supreme  Inquisitor 
cannot  proceed  one  step  in  the  discharge  of 
his  ofhce,  till  he  has  received  the  confirma- 
tion of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  When  thus 
elected  and  confirmed,  the  Inquisitor-general 
appoints  the  subordinate  Inquisitors,  but  in 
this  last  instance,  the  nomination  of  the  su- 
preme Inquisitor  is  subject  to  the  review  of 
the  king.  S)  high  in  dignity  is  the  Inquisi- 
tor-general esteemed  by  the  Romish  Church, 
that  he  enjoys  the  title  of  "  most  reverend," 
a  title  which  places  him  on  an  equal  footing 
with  bishops. 

The  privileges  of  the  Inquisitors  are  many 
and  valuable.  They  are  not  subject  to  the 
bishops  of  the  provinces  where  they  reside, 
or  to  the  superiors  of  the  religious  orders  to 
which  they  belong.  They  alone  can  publish 
.he  edicts  against  heretics  ;  they  can  excom- 
municate, interdict,  and  suspend;  and,  ex- 
cept in  a  few  cases  which  are  distinctly  speci- 
fied, they  can  prevent  the  ordinaries  or  resi- 
dent bishops  from  absolving  those  whom 
they  have  subjected  to  the  censure  of  the 
Church.  They  may  apprehend  heretics, 
though  they  take  refuge  in  churches ;  make 
statutes,  and  increase  the  punishments  on 
those  who  violate  them  •  g  'ant  indulgences 


58  HISTORY"    OF 

of  twenty  or  forty  days ;  and  give  full  par- 
don of  sins  to  all  their  officers  who  die  in 
their  service.  "  Whoever,  by  himself  or 
others,  shall  kill,  beat,  or  sthke  any  of  the 
Inquisitors,  or  the  officials  of  the  holy  office, 
or  who  shall  injure  or  damage  their  effects, 
shall  be  delivered  over  to  the  secular  power." 

With  a  few  exceptions,  the  Inquisitors 
may  proceed  against  all  persons  whatsoever, 
both  among  the  clergy  and  the  laity.  Bishops, 
priests,  and  friars,  nay,  princes  and  kings, 
must  be  subject  to  this  extraordinary  tribu- 
nal. Persons  of  every  age  and  condition, 
and  of  both  sexes,  may  be  cited  as  witnesses, 
in  the  causes  which  it  takes  up.  We  have 
a  striking  example  of  this  in  the  citation  of 
Joan,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V., 
before  that  tribunal,  to  give  evidence  in  a 
case  where  a  person  was  accused  of  holding 
doctrines  contrary  to  the  faith.  So  great  was 
the  awe  with  which  this  court  inspired  the 
superstitious  emperor,  that  he  commanded 
his  daughter  without  delay  to  obey  the  sum 
mons,  in  order  to  avoid  the  sentence  of  ex- 
communication. She  accordingly  appeared 
before  the  Inquisitor-general  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, and  gave  her  evidence  in  the  case 
under  consideration. 

The  Inquisitors  of  Spain  and  Portugal, 
especially,  pretend  to  have  jurisdiction  over 
the  subjects  of  other  kings.  Of  this  we  have 
a  remarkable  example  in  the  case  of  Thomas 
Maynard,  consul   of  the   British   nation   in 


THE    INQUISITION.  59 

Lisbon,  under  the  protectorate  of  Oliver 
Cromwell,  who  was  imprisoned  in  the  Inqui- 
sition under  pretence  of  having  spoken  some- 
thing against  the  Romish  faith.  M.  Mea- 
dows, who  at  that  period  took  care  of  the 
English  aftairs  at  Lisbon,  informed  Cromwell 
of  the  imprisonment  of  the  consul,  and  having 
received  instructions  from  the  Protector,  he 
obtained  an  audience  of  the  king  of  Portugal, 
and,  in  the  name  of  Cromwell,  demanded 
the  liberation  of  Maynard.  The  king,  how- 
ever, informed  him,  that  this  was  not  in  his 
power — the  consul  being  detained  by  the  In- 
quisition, over  which  he  had  no  authority. 
This  answer  was  transmitted  by  Meadows 
to  Cromwell ;  and,  having  shortly  afterwards 
received  new  instructions,  he  informed  the 
king,  that,  seeing  his  majesty  had  no  power 
over  the  Inquisition,  he  was  commanded  by 
the  Protector  immediately  to  declare  war 
against  it.  This  unexpected  declaration  so 
alarmed  both  the  king  and  the  Inquisitors, 
that  they  immediately  gave  Maynard  liberty 
to  leave  the  Inquisition.  But,  scorning  to 
accept  of  a  private  dismission,  the  consul 
compelled  the  Inquisitors,  in  order  to  repair 
the  injury  done  to  his  character,  to  give  him 
an  honourable  acquittal.  Very  few,  how- 
ever, are  the  individuals  who  thus  escape  ou* 
of  the  hands  of  these  tyrants. 

The  Inquisitors  can  prevent  cognizance 
being  taken  of  any  particular  matter,  may 
order  any  process  to  be  stopped,  and  may 


60  HISTORF    OF 

bring  before  themselves  any  cause,  at  what 
ever  stage  of  the  proceedings.  They  can 
further  modify  and  alter  all  sentences  of  con- 
demnation, in  the  terms  they  may  think 
proper.  Nay,  they  even  possess  the  charac  - 
ter  of  legislators,  being  authorized  to  inter- 
pret the  canon  law,  in  matters  relating  to  the 
government  of  the  court.  They  may  also 
compel  the  governors  of  cities  to  swear  that 
they  will  defend  the  Church  against  heretics, 
and  to  extirpate  all  who  are  denounced  here- 
tics by  the  Church.  And  for  the  better  ap- 
prehending of  heretics,  as  well  as  for  their 
own  safety,  they  may  arm  both  themselves 
and  their  attendants.  "Even  in  exterior 
pomp  and  parade,"  says  Puigblanch,  "the 
supreme  chief  of  the  Inquisition  emulated 
kingly  power  and  ostentation,  both  within 
and  without  his  tribunal.  It  is  well  known 
that  Torquemada,  in  his  journeys,  either  be- 
cause he  was  influenced  by  fear,  or  sought  to 
infuse  it,  carried  about  with  him  fifty  fami- 
liars on  horseback,  and  two  hundred  on  foot. 
A  penitent  by  profession — for  this  is'the  real 
definition  of  a  friar — bearing  about  with  him 
arrogance  and  terror  wherever  he  went !  In 
the  service  also  of  the  Inquisitor-general,  and 
of  his  tribunal,  the  grandees  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished pedigree  have  been  employed ; 
indeed,  they  have  not  disdained  to  accept  the 
title  and  duties  of  bailiff".  Even  the  Cortes 
of  the  kingdom  have  had  to  yield  to  his  pre 
dominant  authority." 


THE    INQUISITION.  61 

Besides  the  Inquisitor-general,  there  are 
five  counsellors,  who  have  the  title  of  A^  os- 
tolical  Inquisitors.  These  counsellors  delibe- 
rate upon  all  atiairs  with  the  Inquisitor-gene- 
ral, settle  disputes  among  the  particular  In- 
quisitors, punish  the  familiars  attached  to 
the  institution,  and  receive  appeals.  These 
officers,  together  with  an  advocate-fiscal,  two 
secretaries,  a  treasurer,  accountant,  reporters, 
bailiffs,  and  qualificators,  constitute  the  su- 
preme council,  or  high  court  of  the  Inquisition 
in  Spain.  The  provincial  tribunals  have 
three  and  sometimes  four  Inquisitors  of  the 
secular  clergy,  and  a  number  of  other  officers 
bearing  the  same  names,  and  occupying  the 
same  stations,  as  those  attached  to  the  su- 
preme council. 

In  regard  to  the  mode  of  procedure  before 
the  tribunal  of  the  holy  office,  it  must  be  kept 
in  mind,  that  the  Inquisitors  not  only  encour- 
age, but  compel,  by  their  threatenings  and 
excommunications,  every  class  of  the  com- 
munity to  become  informers^  or  accusers  of 
all  whom  they  suspect  of  holding  heretical 
tenets.  Informations  are  consequently  re- 
ceived, without  any  respect  to  the  character 
of  the  persons  by  whom  they  are  given. 
Thieves  and  cheats,  prejudiced  persons,  the 
nearest  relatives,  and  even  children,  are  not 
only  allowed,  but  invited  to  inform:  while 
the  names  of  the  accusers  and  witnesses  are 
uniformly  kept  hidden  from  the  unhappy  in- 
dividual who  is  thus  denounced  to  the  holy 
6 


b*  HISTORY    OP 

oilict?.  "Their  form  of  proceeding,"  says 
Voltaire,  « is  an  infallible  way  to  destroy 
whomsoever  the  Inquisitors  wish.  The  pri- 
soners are  not  confronted  with  the  accuser 
or  infoimer.  Nor  is  there  any  informer  or 
witness  who  is  not  listened  to.  A  public 
2onvict,  a  notorious  malefactor,  an  infamous 
person,  a  common  prostitute,  a  child,  are  in 
the  holy  otnce,  though  nowhere  else,  credi- 
ble accusers  and  witnesses.  Even  the  son 
may  depose  against  his  father,  the  wife 
against  her  husband.  This  procedure,  un- 
heard of  till  the  institution  of  this  court, 
makes  the  whole  kingdom  tremble.  Suspi- 
cion reigns  in  every  breast.  Friendship  and 
quietness  are  at  an  end.  The  brother  dreads 
his  brother,  the  fathei  his  son.'* 

There  are  three  ways  in  which  the  process 
may  begin  before  the  Inquisitorial  courts. 
First,  by  investigation,  where  the  Inquisitor 
summons  certain  individuals  into  his  pre- 
sence, and  inquires  into  the  state  of  the  town 
or  district  where  they  reside.  Secondly,  by 
accusation,  where  a  direct  charge  of  heresy 
is  brought  before  the  court,  agamst  one  or 
more  persons  distinctly  named.  Thirdly,  by 
denunciation,  where  the  Inquisitor  is  merely 
informed,  that  certain  heretical  persons,  or 
persons  suspected  of  heresy,  who  are  like- 
wise distinctly  named,  exist  within  the  limits 
of  his  jurisdiction.  The  last  is  by  far  the 
most  common  mode,  and  it  is  that  which  the 
Inquisitors  are  most  desirous  to  encourage 


THE    INQUISITION  53 

Nor  is  it  difficult  to  perceive  the  reason, 
seeing  the  denunciator  does  not  bind  him- 
self to  prove  the  charge  he  prefers,  and  is 
under  no  apprehension  of  punishment. 

When  the  information  has  been  lodgea, 
the  following  questions  are  usually  proposed* 
Whether  the  informer  knows  the  person  sus- 
pected of  heresy,  and  if  so,  how  long  he  has 
known  him?  Whether  he  has  said  or  done 
the  things  imputed  to  him  oftener  than  once  ? 
and  whether  in  jest  or  in  earnest,  and  in 
whose  company  those  things  were  said  or 
done  ?  The  answers  to  these  and  similar 
questions,  are  written  down  by  the  notary, 
and  read  over  to  the  informer,  who  either 
subscribes  them,  or  puts  under  them  the 
mark  of  the  cross.  He  is  then  sworn  to  se- 
crecy. "  His  name,  his  personal  appearance, 
the  place  of  his  abode,  and  every  other  cir- 
cumstance respecting  him,  are  studiously 
concealed  by  the  Inquisitors,  lest  the  prac- 
tice of  informing  should  be  discouraged ;  and 
having  once  put  the  court  in  possession  of 
the  requisite  intelligence,  he  drops  away  en- 
tirely from  the  view,  and  is  never  again 
mentioned,  and,  if  possible,  is  never  again 
referred  to,  in  the  whole  course  of  the  pro- 
cess. Thus  does  this  odious  tribunal,  called 
by  an  abuse  of  language  the  Holy  Oflce,  in 
the  very  first  step  of  its  judicial  procedure, 
afford  to  the  most  infamous  the  pleasure  of 
gratification  with  the  certainty  of  conceal- 
ment, and  provide  an  opportur  tty  for  indulg 


S4  HISTORY    OF 

ing  the  worst  feelings  and  passions  of  oui 
nature — personal  malice,  envy,  and  revenge." 
Nay,  not  only  are  informers  and  witnesses 
sworn  to  secrecy ;  every  individual  connect- 
ed with  the  Inquisition,  from  the  highest 
rank  to  the  keeper  of  the  jail,  must  take  a 
similar  oath ;  and  strict  watch  is  kept  on  all 
their  movements.  A  striking  example  of 
the  rigour  with  which  all  are  treated  who 
deviate  in  the  smallest  degree  from  this  In- 
quisitorial injunction,  is  given  by  Gonsalvius 
Montanus,  in  the  following  narrative  :  "  One 
Peter  ab  Herera,"  says  he,  "a  man  not  alto- 
gether vile,  but  of  some  humanity,  and  not 
very  old,  was  appointed  keeper  of  the  tower 
of  Triana,  which  is  the  prison  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion. It  happened,  as  it  often  doth,  in  such 
numerous  and  promiscuous  imprisonments, 
that  among  other  prisoners  committed  to  his 
custody,  there  was  a  certain  good  matron, 
with  her  two  daughters  who  were  put  in 
different  cells,  and  earnestly  desired  the  lib- 
erty of  seeing  one  another,  and  comforting 
each  other  in  so  great  a  calamity.  They 
therefore  earnestly  entreated  the  keeper,  that 
he  would  suffer  them  to  be  together  for  one 
quarter  of  an  hour,  that  they  might  have  the 
satisfaction  of  embracing  each  other.  He 
being  moved  with  humanity  and  compas- 
sion, allowed  them  to  be  together,  and  talk 
with  one  another,  for  half  an  hour  ;  and  aftei 
they  had  indulged  their  mutual  affections,  he 
out  them  as  they  werr  before,  in  their  sepa- 


TIIK    INQUISITIO.y.  ().J 

"•ate  prisons.  A  few  days  after  t  lis  they 
were  put  with  great  cruelty  to  the  torture ; 
and  the  keeper  being  afraid,  that  through 
the  severity  of  their  torments,  they  should 
discover  to  the  lords,  the  fathers  Inquisitors, 
his  small  Immanity  in  suffering  them  to  con- 
verse together  for  half  an  hour  without  the 
Inquisitor's  leave  ;  through  terror  went  him- 
self to  the  holy  tribunal,  and  of  his  own 
accord  confessed  his  sin,  and  prayed  for  par- 
don;  foolisaly  believing,  that  by  such  his 
confession,  he  should  prevent  the  punish- 
ment that  threatened  him  for  this  action. 
But  the  lords  Inquisitors  judged  this  to  be  so 
heinous  a  crime,  that  they  ordered  him  im- 
mediately to  be  thrown  into  jail,  and  such 
was  the  cruelty  of  his  treatment,  and  disor- 
der of  mind  that  followed  on  it,  that  he  soon 
grew  distracted.  His  disorder  and  madness 
did  not,  however,  save  him  from  a  more 
grievous  punishment.  For  after  he  had  lain 
a  full  year  in  that  cursed  prison,  they  brought 
him  out  in  the  public  procession,  clothed 
with  the  yellow  garment,  and  a  halter  about 
his  neck,  as  if  he  had  been  a  common  thief; 
and  condemned  him  first  to  receive  two  hun- 
dred lashes  through  the  streets  of  the  city, 
and  then  to  be  banished  to  the  galleys  for 
six  years.  The  day  after  the  procession,  as 
he  was  carried  from  the  prison  to  be  whip- 
ped, his  madness,  which  usually  seized  him 
every  hour,  came  on  him,  and  throwing  him- 
self from  the  ass,  on  which,  for  the  greater 
6* 


66  HISTORY    OF 

shame,  he  was  :arried,  he  fle\i  upon  the  In 
quisitory  alguazil,  and  snatching  from  him  a 
sword,  would  certainly  have  killed  himself, 
had  he  not  been  prevented  by  the  mob  who 
attended  him,  who  set  him  again  upon  an 
ass,  and  guarded  him  till  he  had  received  the 
two  hundred  lashes  according  to  his  sentence. 
After  this,  the  lords  Inquisitors  ordered,  that 
as  he  had  behaved  himself  indecently  towards 
the  alguazil,  four  years  more  should  be  added 
to  the  six  for  which  he  was  at  first  condemn- 
ed to  the  galleys.'^ 

When  the  tribunal  judges  that  the  words 
or  actions  which  are  denounced,  are  sufficient 
to  warrant  an  inquiry,  witnesses  are  cited, 
none  of  whom  are  informed  of  the  subject 
on  which  they  are  to  make  depositions. 
They  are  only  asked  in  general  terms,  "  If 
they  have  ever  heard  or  seen  any  thing 
which  was,  or  appeared  contrary  to  the 
Catholic  faith,  or  the  right  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion V  The  consequence  is,  that  sometimes 
circumstances  foreign  to  the  case  in  hand  are 
recollected,  and  deposed  to  by  the  witnesses, 
which  tend  to  criminate  others,  against  whom 
new  processes  are  immediately  commenced  ! 
"  When  we  speak  of  witnesses  in  Great  Bri- 
tain," says  an  eminent  writer,  "  we  almost 
unavoidably  think  of  a  charge  regularly 
brought,  the  judges  upon  the  bench,  the  jury 
sworn,  the  criminal  apprehended,  and  in 
open  court,  the  people  admitted  as  auditors, 
•iud  the  w^ole  judicial  assembly  feeling  and 


THE    INQUISITION.  67 

actiuL  under  the  assurance  that  they  are  re- 
sponsible to  an  intelligent  and  watchful  pub- 
lic, for  every  part  of  their  proceedings.  But, 
in  the  Inquisitorial  tribunal,  when  the  wit- 
nesses are  summoned,  the  party  accused  has 
not  even  been  taken  into  custody.  He  re 
mains  in  his  own  house,  and  in  the  bosom 
of  his  family,  engaged  in  his  ordinary  occu- 
pations, and  entering,  it  may  be,  into  the 
amusements  of  the  place  where  he  lives ; 
utterly  ignorant  of  all  that  has  been  done 
against  him,  and  utterly  unprepared  for  all 
that  is  to  follow.  In  truth,  the  depositions 
of  the  witnesses  are  viewed,  rather  in  con- 
nection with  the  charge,  than  with  the  issue, 
and  relate  not  so  much  to  the  guilt  or  the 
innocence  of  the  party  accused,  as  to  the  suf- 
ficiency or  insufficiency  of  the  information. 
Like  the  informer,  the  witnesses  are  sworn 
to  secrecy ;  their  names  and  personal  history 
are  most  industriously  concealed ;  and  there 
are  instances  upon  record,  where  brothers 
and  sisters  have  given  evidence  against  bro- 
thers and  sisters,  where  the  wife  has  deposed 
against  the  husband,  and  the  husband  against 
the  wife." 

The  next  step,  is  the  apprehension  of  the 
person  accused.  This  is  given  in  charge  to 
the  high  bailiff",  who  executes  his  commission 
by  carrying  with  him  a  competent  number 
of  officers,  taking  the  precaution  to  surprise 
the  unhappy  victim,  which  is  generally  done 
at  right.     Not  the  slightest  hint  of  insecuritj? 


68  hisioaY  of 

is  given,  not  a  suspicion  is  breathed,  till  about 
midnight,  a  band  of  monsters  calmly  ap- 
proach the  residence  of  the  accused  and  de- 
mand an  entrance.*  To  the  question,  "  In 
whose  name  is  this  required  ?"  the  answer 
is,  "  The  Holy  Office.'^  ^'  The  thunderbolt, 
launched  from  the  black  and  angry  cloud," 
sa.ys  Puigblanch,  "  strikes  not  with  such 
alarm,  as  the  sound  of  ^  Deliver  yourself  up 
a  prisoner  to  the  Inquisition.'  Astonished 
and  trembling,  the  unwary  citizen  hears  the 
dismal  voice  ;  a  thousand  different  affections 
at  once  seize  upon  his  panic-struck  frame — 
he  remains  perplexed  and  motionless.  His 
life,  in  danger,  his  deserted  wife  and  orphan 
children,  eternal  infamy,  the  only  patrimony 
that  now  awaits  his  bereft  family,  are  all 

*  The  following  affords  a  view  of  the  secrecy  with 
which  the  affairs  of  the  holy  office  are  conducted: 
"  When  the  familiar  is  sent  for  to  apprehend  any  per- 
son," says  Limborch,  "  he  has  the  following  order  put 
into  his  hand  :  *  By  the  command  of  the  reverend  father 
N.  an  Inquisitor  of  heretical  pravity,  let  B.  be  appre- 
hended, and  committed  to  the  prisons  of  this  holy  office, 
and  not  to  be  released  out  of  them,  but  by  the  express 
order  of  the  said  reverend  Inquisitor.'  And  if  several 
persons  are  to  be  taken  up  at  the  same  time,  the  fami- 
liars are  commanded  so  to  order  things,  that  they  may 
know  nothing  of  one  another's  being  apprehended. 
And  at  this  the  familiars  are  so  very  expert,  that  a 
father  and  his  three  sons  and  three  daughters,  who 
lived  together  in  the  same  house,  were  all  carried  pri- 
soners to  the  Inquisition,  without  knowing  any  thing 
of  one  another's  being  there  until  seven  years  after- 
wards, when  they  that  were  alive  came  forth  to  an 
auto-da-fe'." 


THE    INQUISITION.  69 

ideas  which  rash  upon  his  m.nd — he  is  at 
once  agitated  by  an  agony  of  dilemma  and 
despair.  The  burning  tear  scarcely  glistens 
on  his  livid  cheek,  tiie  accents  of  woe  die 
on  his  lips,  and  amidst  the  alarm  and  deso- 
lation of  his  family,  and  the  confusion  and 
pity  of  his  neighbours,  he  is  borne  away  to 
dungeons,  whose  damp  and  bare  walls  can 
alone  witness  the  anguish  of  his  mind. 
"  Here,"  continues  the  same  elegant  writer, 
"  was  usually  confined  the  father  of  a  family, 
perhaps  his  amiable  wife,  or  tender  daugh- 
ter, the  exemplary  priest,  or  peaceful  scholai ; 
and  in  the  meantime  his  house  was  bathed 
in  tears,  and  filled  with  desolation.  Vene- 
rable matrons  and  timid  damsels  have  been 
hurried  from  their  homes,  and,  ignorant  of 
the  cause  of  their  misfortune,  have  awakened 
from  the  frenzy  of  the  brain,  and  found  them- 
selves here  alone,  and  helpless  in  a  solitary 
cell.  Here  the  manly  youth,  torn  from  his 
bewailing  kindred,  and  often  wrested  from 
ties  still  more  endearing,  pines  amidst  damp 
seclusion  and  chill  despair,  and  vainly  in- 
vokes the  names  of  objects  which  so  lately 
thrilled  him  with  pleasure.  The  dripping 
vaults  re-echo  the  sighs  of  the  aged  father, 
no  longer  encircled  by  the  fond  endearments 
of  a  numerous  progeny ;  all,  in  short,  are 
condemned  to  drag  existence  amidst  a  death- 
like silence,  and,  as  it  were,  immured  from 
the  sight  of  their  weeping  relatives." 

The   prisoners   are   confined    in   separate 


70  HISTORY    OP 

cells,  which  are  not  only  small,  but  contain 
no  other  furniture  except  a  wooden  bed 
stead,  a  table,  one  chair,  and  sometimes  none. 
There  are  usually  two  rows  of  cells,  built 
over  each  other.  The  upper  rows  are  light- 
ed by  means  of  a  small  iron  grate,  and  the 
lower  are  perfectly  dark.  In  each  cell  there 
are  placed  two  pots  of  water,  one  to  wash 
in,  and  the  other  to  drink.  The  treatment 
of  the  prisoners  varies  according  to  their 
rank  ;  their  allowance  sometimes  amounting 
to  no  more  than  three  half-pence  or  two 
pence  a  day.  The  under  rows  of  cells  are 
appropriated  for  heretics.  There,  in  solitude 
and  silence,  they  never  see  a  human  being 
except  their  keeper.  Thus  persons  the  most 
nearly  related  to  each  other,  may  be  confined 
in  contiguous  cells  without  knowing  it;  and 
the  merciless  turnkeys  are  constantly  on  the 
watch,  to  prevent  the  utterance  of  any  sound, 
lest  it  should  occasion  the  discovery  of  some 
secret.  If  a  person  bemoans  himself,  or  be- 
wails his  misfortune,  or  prays  to  God  with 
an  audible  voice,  he  is  instantly  silenced.  As 
persons  may  know  one  another  by  their 
cough,  as  well  as  by  their  articulate  voice, 
no  one  is  allowed  even  this  expression  of  his 
misery,  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition. 
Limborch  relates  the  following  instance  of 
such  unheard  of  barbarity,  which,  he  says,  he 
had  from  several  persons.  "  A  prisoner  in 
the  Inquisition  coughed ;  the  jailers  came  to 
him,  and  admonished  him  to  forbear  cough- 


THE    INQUISITION. 

ing,  because  it  was  wilawful  to  make  any 
noise  in  that  house.  He  answered  tiiat  it 
was  not  in  his  power  to  forbear.  They  ad- 
monished him,  however,  a  second  time,  to 
forbear  it,  and  because  he  did  not,  they  strip- 
ped him  naked,  and  cruelly  beat  him ;  this 
increased  his  cough,  for  which  they  beat  him 
so  often,  that  at  last  he  died  through  the  pain 
and  anguish  of  his  stripes  !" 

Very  soon  after  the  accused  is  conducted 
to  the  Inquisition,  he  is  brought  forth  from 
his  cell  and  examined.  The  place  where  he 
appears  before  the  Inquisitors  is  called  the 
table  of  the  holy  office.  At  the  further  end 
of  it  there  is  placed  a  crucifix,  raised  up  al- 
most as  high  as  the  ceiling.  In  the  middle 
of  the  room  stands  a  table,  at  the  end  of 
which,  nearest  the  crucifix,  sits  the  secretary 
or  notary  of  the  Inquisition.  The  culprit  is 
brought  in  by  the  beadle,  with  his  head, 
arms,  and  feet  naked,  and  is  followed  by  one 
of  the  keepers.  His  attendants  conduct  him 
to  the  door  of  the  chamber  of  audience, 
which  he  enters  alone,  and  is  ordered  to  sit 
down  on  a  bench  at  the  other  end  of  the 
table,  directly  opposite  the  notary.  The  In- 
quisitor sits  on  his  right  hand.  On  the  table 
near  the  culprit  hes  a  missal,  or  book  of  the 
Gospels,  on  which  he  is  ordered  to  lay  his 
hand,  and  swear  that  he  will  declare  truth, 
and  keep  secresy. 

He  is  then  asked  if  lie  knows  where  he  is, 
whether  he  is  aware  that  he   is  within  the 


72  HISTORY    OF 

walls  of  the  Inquisition,  and  why  it  is  that 
men  are  usually  detained  in  the  custody  ot 
the  holy  office.  If  he  says  that  he  cannot 
guess  at  the  cause  of  his  imprisonment,  but 
knows  that  he  is  a  prisoner  in  the  holy  office, 
where  heretics  or  persons  suspected  of  heresy 
are  confined,  he  is  informed,  that  seeing  he 
knows  that  persons  are  confined  there  foi 
their  profanation  of  religion,  he  ought  to  con 
elude  that  he  is  confined  for  the  same  reason ; 
and  must  therefore  declare  what  he  believes 
to  be  the  cause  of  his  apprehension  and  con- 
finement in  the  prisons  of  the  holy  office.  If 
he  says  he  cannot  imagine  what  it  is,  he  is 
desired  to  recollect  himself,  to  run  over  in 
his  mind  the  events  of  his  past  life,  and  to 
search  out  and  ascertain  whether  he  may  not, 
on  some  occasion,  have  said  or  done  some- 
thing contrary  to  the  purity  of  the  Catholic 
faith,  and  the  authority  of  the  Inquisition. 
If  he  still  persists  in  maintaining  his  igno- 
rance, he  is  informed  that  every  degree  of 
mercy  is  shown  towards  those  who  confess, 
while  the  obstinate  are  treated  with  the  ut- 
most severity. 

The  prisoner  is  next  obliged  to  declare  his 
whole  genealogy  and  descent,  and  to  make 
known  whether  any  of  his  ancestors,  or  him- 
self, his  brothers,  wife,  or  children,  had  at  any 
time  previous  been  arraigned  before  the  tri- 
bunal. These  questions  are  put  for  the  pur- 
pose of  implicating  the  accused  in  a  stronger 
manner,  and  to  obtain  possession  of  the  pro- 


THE    INQUISITION.  73 

perty  he  may  have  inherited,  by  declaring  the 
right  of  succession  null  and  void,  to  the  de- 
struction, perhaps,  of  many  families.  Nu- 
merous other  questions  are  asked,  varied  in 
every  possible  way,  and  every  art  of  un- 
righteous investigation  is  tried  ;  and  if,  after 
a'l,  he  still  persists  in  declaring  himself  igno- 
rant of  any  word  or  action  that  can  be  con- 
strued into  heresy,  he  is  informed,  that  he 
must  be  carried  back  to  his  dungeon,  to  aid 
his  memory  by  reflection.  This  ceremony 
is  performed  three  times,  with  some  interval 
between  each. 

"  The  idea  all  this  presents  is,"  says  Puig- 
blanch,  "  that  the  court  wishes  the  prisoner 
to  confess,  under  the  hope  of  being  treated 
with  greater  kindness  ;  but,  without  dread- 
ing the  charge  of  temerity,  and  judging  only 
from  the  strict  nature  of  the  process,  I  may 
venture  to  attribute  to  such  a  practice  the 
highest  refinement  of  the  Inquisitorial  test. 
At  least  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the  pri- 
soner is  compelled  to  scrutinize  every  act 
and  period  of  his  life,  till  at  last  he  hits  on 
the  cause  of  his  impeachment.  Scarcely  re- 
covered from  the  surprise  caused  by  his  ar- 
rest, and  appalled  by  the  contrast  his  imagi- 
nation forms  of  the  many  and  secret  steps 
previously  taken,  compared  with  the  state  of 
security  in  which  he  lately  lived,  from  that 
moment  the  prisoner  begins  to  despair,  and 
hopeless  and  dismayed,  he  already  beholds 
the  torment  that  awaits  him.     Bewildered, 


74  H.STORY    OF 

as  in  the  mazes  of  a  labyrinth,  where\er  he 
tnrns  his  eyes,  some  fresh  object  increases 
his  pain,  and  adds  to  his  anguish.  Under  the 
undoubted  supposition,  that  in  this  abode  of 
wretchedness,  the  appearance  of  the  most 
officious  charity  conceals  acts  of  the  most  in- 
sidious cruelty,  he  beholds  no  one  who  is  not 
an  enemy,  and  hears  nothing  that  is  not  di- 
rected to  fiis  ruin.  Secluded  from  every  spe- 
cies of  intercourse,  if  his  keeper  says  any 
thing  unconnected  with  the  service  of  his 
person,  it  is  to  assure  him  that  it  will  be  much 
in  his  favour  to  confess  according  to  the  plea- 
sure of  the  Inquisitors.  If  an  attorney  is 
allowed  him,  it  is  after  he  has  sworn  to  use 
every  exertion  to  induce  his  client  to  confess, 
and  that  he  will  abandon  his  defence  from 
the  moment  he  discovers  his  guilt.  Thus  is 
it  that  the  prisoner  has  more  to  fear  from 
his  advocate  than  from  the  proctor  of  his 
enemies." 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  prisoner  knows 
the  reason  why  he  is  apprehended,  and  hap 
pens  to  confess  every  thing  of  which  he  has 
been  accused  to  the  Inquisitor,  he  is  com- 
mended, and  encouraged  to  hope  for  a 
speedy  deliverance.  If  he  confesses  some 
things,  but  cannot  guess  at  others,  he  is  also 
commended  for  having  resolved  to  accuse 
himself,  and  exhorted,  "  by  the  bowels  of 
mercy  of  Jesus  Christ,"  to  proceed,  and  in- 
genuously to  confess  every  thing  else  of 
which  he  is  accused,  that  he  may  experience 


THE    INQUISITION.  75 

that  kindness  and  mercy  which  this  tribunal 
uses  towards  tliose  who  manifest  a  real  re- 
pentance of  their  crimes  by  a  sincere  and 
voluntary  confession  ! 

In  these  examinations,  the  Inquisitors  have 
recourse  to  the  meanest  artifices,  in  order  to 
draw  from  the  prisoner  a  confession  of  those 
crimes  of  which  he  is  accused,  making  great 
professions  of  sympathy,  and  numerous  pro- 
mises of  favour,  if  he  will  but  yield  to  their 
solicitations.  By  these  flattering  assurances, 
they  sometimes  impose  on  the  unwary  ;  and 
when  they  have  gained  their  object,  they 
forget  their  promises,  and  treat  the  unhappy 
objects  of  their  deception  with  the  utmost 
rigour.  In  proof  of  this,  the  following  among 
other  stratagems,  drawn  up  by  Nicholas 
Eymeric,  Inquisitor-general  of  Arragon,  about 
the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  are 
submitted  to  the  reader: — "When  the  pri- 
soner has  been  impeached  of  the  crime  of 
heresy,  but  not  convicted,  and  he  obstinately 
persists  in  his  denial,  let  the  Inquisitor  take 
the  proceedings  into  his  hands,  or  any  other 
file  of  papers,  and  looking  them  over  in  his 
presence,  let  him  feign  to  have  discovered 
the  offence  fully  established  therein,  and  that 
he  is  desirous  he  should  at  once  make  his 
confession.  The  Inquisitor  shall  then  say  to 
the  prisoner,  as  if  in  astonishment, '  And  is  it 
possible  that  you  shall  still  deny  what  I  have 
here  before  my  own  eyes  ?'  He  shall  then 
seem  as  if  he  read,  and  to  the  epd  that  the 


76  HIST  IRY    OF 

prisoner  may  know  no  better,  he  shall  fold 
down  the  leaf,  and  after  reading  some  mo- 
ments longer,  he  shall  say  to  him,  *  It  is  just 
as  I  have  said,  why,  therefore,  do  you  deny 
it,  when  you  see  I  know  the  whole  matter? 
When  the  Inquisitor  has  an  opportunity,  he 
shall  manage  so  as  to  introduce  to  the  con 
versation  of  the  prisoner  some  one  of  his 
accomplices,  or  any  other  converted  heretic, 
who  shall  feign  that  he  still  persists  in  his 
heresy,  telling  him  that  he  had  abjured  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  escaping  punishment  by  de- 
ceiving the  Inquisition.  Having  thus  gained 
his  confidence,  he  shall  go  into  his  cell  some 
day  after  dinner,  and  keeping  up  the  conver- 
sation till  night,  shall  remain  with  him,  under 
pretext  of  its  being  too  late  to  return  home. 
He  shall  then  urge  the  prisoner  to  tell  him  all 
the  particulars  of  his  life,  having  first  told 
him  the  whole  of  his  own ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time spies  shall  be  kept  at  the  door,  as  well 
as  a  notary,  in  order  to  certify  what  may  be 
said  within ! !"  All  this  needs  no  comment, 
it  speaks  for  itself;  and  were  it  not  given  on 
the  most  unexceptionable  authority,  we  could 
not  but  reject  it  as  a  fiction.  But,  alas !  what 
the  fanatical  Eymeric  taught  has  been  too 
implicitly  tolbwed  ;  and  thus  the  procedure 
of  a  court,  impiously  called  holy,  is  suffi- 
cient to  put  the  most  barbarous  nations,  nay 
devils  themselves,  to  the  blush. 

Gonsalvius,  for  example,  mentions  a  strik- 
ing  instance  of  the  duplicity  and  cruelty  of 


THE    INQUISITION.  77 

the  lords  of  tlie  Holy  Office.  "In  the  first 
fire  that  was  blown  up  at  Seville,"  says  the 
author, "in  1558  or  1559,  among  many  others 
who  were  taken  up,  were  a  certain  pious 
matron,  her  two  daughters,  and  her  niece. 
Unable  to  effect  his  purpose  by  means  of  the 
torture,  the  Inquisitor  ordered  one  of  the 
daughters  to  be  brought  before  him.  Having 
discoursed  with  her  for  a  considerable  time, 
he  pretended  to  feel  the  greatest  affliction  for 
her  amidst  her  trials.  All  this,  as  the  event 
showed,  had  only  this  tendency,  that  after  he 
had  persuaded  the  poor  simple  girl  that  he 
was  really,  and  with  a  fatherly  affection,  con- 
cerned for  her  calamity,  and  would  consult 
as  a  father,  what  might  be  for  her  benefit 
and  salvation,  and  that  of  her  relatives,  she 
might  throw  herself  upon  his  protection. 
After  spending  several  days  in  such  familiar 
discourses,  during  which  he  pretended  to 
mourn  with  her  over  her  suflerings,  and  to 
be  affected  with  her  miseries,  adding  innu- 
merable promises  of  his  desire  to  free  her 
from  them  ;  when  he  perceived  that  he  had 
deceived  the  girl,  he  proceeded  to  persuade 
her  to  discover  all  she  knew,  not  only  of  her- 
self, but  of  her  mother,  sisters,  and  aunts, 
protesting  upon  oath,  that  if  she  would  faith- 
fully reveal  to  him  every  particular,  he  would 
find  out  a  method  to  relieve  her  from  all  her 
misfortunes,  and  to  send  them  all  back  again 
to  their  homes.  Possessed  of  no  great  pene- 
tration, the  girl,  allured  by  the  premises  and 
7* 


78  HISTORY    OF 

persuasions  of  this  father  of  the  holy  faith, 
proceeded  to  inform  him  of  some  things  re- 
lative to  the  doctrines  which  she  had  been 
taught,  and  concerning  which  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  converse  with  each  other. 
Having  now  got  hold  of  the  thread,  the  In- 
quisitor dexterously  enough  endeavoured  to 
find  his  way  through  the  whole  labyrinth— 
often  calling  the  girl  to  audience,  that  what 
she  had  deposed  might  be  taken  down  in  a 
legal  manner;  and  always  persuading  her 
that  this  would  be  the  only  just  means  to  put 
an  end  to  all  her  evils.  But  when  the  poor 
girl  expected  the  performance  of  his  numer- 
ous promises,  the  Inquisitor,  finding  the  suc- 
cess of  his  craftiness,  by  which  he  had  in 
part  drawn  from  her  what  before  he  could 
not  extort  by  torments,  determined  again  to 
put  her  to  the  torture,  in  order  to  force  out  of 
her  what  he  imagined  she  had  yet  concealed. 
She  was  accordingly  subjected  to  torture,  both 
by  the  rack  a'ld  water,  till  the  Inquisitors  had 
squeezed  out  of  her,  as  with  a  press,  both  the 
heresies  and  accusations  of  the  persons  they 
had  been  hunting  after  ;  for,  through  the  ex- 
tremity of  her  torture,  she  accused  her  mo- 
ther and  sister,  and  several  others,  who  were 
ap^prehended  and  tortured,  and  burnt  alive 
n  he  same  fire  with  the  girl !" 


TiiK   iNQiirsrrio.v 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Examination  of  the  accused  by  torture — its  different 
degrees — it  is  sometimes  inflicted  on  those  who  are 
condemned  to  death — innocence  no  protection  against 
Inquisitorial  cruelty — different  punishments  inflicted 
by  the  Inquisition — description  of  an  auto-da-fe — hy- 
pocritical manner  in  which  the  Inquisitors  deliver  over 
their  victims  to  the  civil  power. 

After  undergoing  the  usual  number  of  ex- 
aminations before  the  Inquisitors,  if  the  pri- 
soner still  persists  in  protesting  his  innocence, 
he  is  condemned  to  the  torture.*  Attempts 
are  first  made,  however,  to  frighten  him  by 
a  variety  of  Inquisitorial  methods.  The  in- 
struments of  torture  are  shown  him  at  a  dis- 
tance. Having  been  conducted  into  a  large 
room,  feebly  lighted,  the  executioner  is  point- 
ed out  to  him,  dressed  in  a  black  gown  which 
reaches  down  to  his  feet,  and  having  a  long 
cowl  drawn  over  his  head  and  face.  This 
revolting  figure  has  in  his  hand  an  iron  col- 
lar, or  some  other  instrument  of  torture,  and 

*  Not  only  are  persons  against  whom  something  has 
been  proved  subjected  to  this  monstrous  engine  of 
Inquisitorial  cruelty,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  from 
them  some  additional  confessions;  those  also  who  can- 
not make  their  innocence  plainly  appear  to  the  Inqui- 
sitor, (and  who  can  in  a  court  so  iniquitous  1)  who  in 
the  smallest  degree  contradict  themselves,  who  faulter, 
tremble,  or  even  turn  pale,  are  considered  guilty,  and 
as  such  are  condemned       the  rack! 


so  HISTORY    OF 

Stares  in  solemn  silence  a:  the  prisoner, 
through  two  holes  which  are  cut  for  this 
purpose  in  his  cowl.  "All  this,"  says  Gon- 
salvius,  "  is  intended  to  strike  the  miserable 
wretch  with  greater  terror,  when  he  sees  him- 
self about  to  be  tortured  by  the  hands  of  one 
who  thus  looks  like  the  very  devil." 

The  majority  of  the  historians  who  have 
been  consulted,  agree  in  stating  that  the  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  torture  formerly  in  use 
were  five  in  number.  First,  the  threaten- 
ing of  the  torture.  Secondly,  The  steps 
taken  when  conducting  the  prisoner  to  the 
place  where  the  torture  is  inflicted.  Thirdly, 
Stripping  and  binding  the  prisoner.  Fourth- 
ly, Elevation  on  the  pulley.  And  lastly, 
Squassation,  or  the  sudden  precipitation  and 
suspension  of  the  body.  To  these  we  may 
add,  the  wooden  horse,  the  thumb  screws,  the 
iron  slipper,  &c.  The  measure  of  severity 
with  which  the  prisoner  is  to  be  tortured,  is 
pointed  out  by  the  Inquisitor  in  the  terms  in 
which  he  is  pleased  to  pronounce  sentence. 
If  he  says,  "  Let  the  prisoner  be  interrogated 
by  torture,"  he  is  merely  hoisted  up  on  the 
rope,  but  does  not  undergo  the  squassation. 
If  he  says,  "  Let  him  be  tortured,"  he  must 
undergo  the  squassation  once,  being  first  in- 
terrogated while  hanging  in  the  air.  If  he 
orders  him  "  to  be  well  tortured,"  he  must 
suffer  two  squassations.  If  he  adds  the  ex- 
pression, «  severely  tortured,"  he  is  subject- 
ed to  undergo  within  an  hour  thr^^e  different 


THE    INQUISITION.  81 

sqiiassalions.  If  "  very  severely,"  it  is  done 
with  twistings  and  additional  weights  sus- 
pended to  his  feet.  And  if  "  very  severely, 
even  unto  death,"  the  prisoner  is  in  immi 
nent  danger  of  his  life.  "  Should  the  prisoner, 
in  consequence  of  the  agony  which  he  suf- 
fers, be  forced  to  make  any  confession,  that 
confession  is  immediately  taken  down  by  the 
notary ;  and  if  he  adheres  to  it  at  his  next 
examination,  which  commonly  takes  place  in 
twenty-four  hours  after  the  infliction  of  the 
torture,  and  at  the  same  time  acknowledges 
his  guilt,  he  is  condemned,  it  is  true,  as  a  he- 
retic upon  his  own  confession,  but  is  repre- 
sented as  penitent,  and  is  restored  to  the  bo- 
som of  the  Church ;  though  not  without  un- 
dergoing certain  punishments,  more  or  less 
severe,  and  certain  painful  varieties  of  pen- 
ance.* But,  should  he  either  retract  his  con- 
fession, or  persist  in  his  heresy,  he  is  delivered 
over  to  the  secular  power,  and  is  burnt  alive 
at  the  next  auto-da-fe.''^ 

However  unwilling  we  are  to  shock  the 

*  This  does  not,  however,  hold  good  in  every  case; 
individuals,  as  we  have  already  seen,  and  shall  after- 
wards have  occasion  to  notice,  who  have  been  sub- 
jected to  the  torture,  and  made  confession,  having  sub- 
sequently been  condemned  to  the  flames.  No  doubt  the 
Inquisitors  pretended  to  have  had  good  grounds  for  thus 
acting;  but  where  was  there  ever  a  deed  of  blood  per- 
petrated, (and  innumerable  have  been  the  number  which 
have  been  committed  by  these  demons  in  human  form), 
that  they  could  not  colour  over,  in  a  manner  sutficient 
to  satisf}  ttf  consciences  of  at  least  Romish  eccktiastics  ? 


82  HISTORY    OP 

feelings  of  the  reader  by  any  furtner  descrip- 
tion of  the  various  kinds  of  torture  inflicted 
by  the  Inquisition,  it  is  necessary,  in  a  histo- 
ry hke  the  present,  to  give  some  more  par- 
ticular account  of  this  part  of  the  procedure 
of  that  infamous  court.  The  following  par- 
ticulars relative  to  the  torture,  which  are 
given  by  Puigblanch,  are  stated  in  a  manner 
as  unrevolting  as  possible,  although,  on  such 
a  subject,  no  words  which  describe  this  bar- 
barous mode  of  Inquisitorial  punishment  can 
be  used,  without  giving  pain  to  every  mind 
not  altogether  destitute  of  humanity. 

"  Three  kinds  of  torture  have  been  gene- 
rally used  by  the  Inquisition,  viz.  the  pulley, 
the  rack,  and  fire.  As  sad  and  loud  lamen- 
tations accompanied  the  sharpness  of  the  pain, 
the  victim  was  conducted  to  a  retired  apart- 
ment, called  the  hall  of  torture,  and  usually 
situated  under  ground,  in  order  that  his  cries 
might  not  interrupt  the  silence  which  reigned 
throughout  the  other  parts  of  the  building. 
Here  the  court  assembled,  and  the  judges 
being  seated,  together  with  their  secretary, 
again  questioned  the  prisoner  respecting  his 
crime,  which  if  he  still  persisted  to  deny, 
they  proceeded  to  the  execution  of  the  sen- 
tence. 

"  The  first  torture  was  performed  by  fix- 
ing a  pulley  to  the  roof  of  the  hall,  with  a 
strong  hempen  or  grass  rope  passed  througli 
it.  The  executioners  then  seized  the  culprit, 
md  leaving  him  naked  to  his  drawers,  put 


THE    INQUISITION.  83 

shackles  on  his  feet,  and  suspended  weights 
of  one  liiindred  pounds  to  his  ankles.  His 
hands  were  then  bound  behind  his  back,  and 
the  rope  from  the  pulley  strongly  fastened  to 
his  wrists.  In  this  situation  he  was  raised 
about  the  height  of  a  man  from  the  ground, 
and  in  the  meantime  the  judges  coolly  ad- 
monished him  to  reveal  the  truth.  In  this 
position,  as  far  as  twelve  stripes  were  some- 
times inflicted  on  him,  according  to  the  infer- 
ences and  weight  of  the  off'ence.  He  was 
then  suffered  to  fall  suddenly,  but  in  such 
manner  that  neither  his  feet  nor  the  weights 
reached  the  ground,  in  order  to  render  the 
shock  of  his  body  the  greater. 

"  The  torture  of  the  rack,  also  called  that 
of  water  and  ropes,  and  the  one  most  com- 
monly used,  was  inflicted  by  stretching  the 
victim,  naked  as  before,  on  his  back,  along  a 
wooden  horse  or  hollow  bench,  with  sticks 
across  like  a  ladder,  and  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose. To  this  his  feet,  hands,  and  head  were 
strongly  bound  in  such  manner  as  to  leave 
him  no  room  to  move.  In  this  attitude  he 
experienced  eight  strong  contortions  in  his 
limbs,  viz.  two  on  the  fleshy  parts  of  the 
arm  above  the  elbow,  and  two  below,  one  oi 
each  thigh,  and  a  so  on  the  legs.  He  was 
besides  obliged  to  swallow  seven  pints  of  wa 
ter,  slowly  dropped  into  his  mouth  on  a  piece 
of  silk  or  ribbon,  which,  by  the  pressure  of 
the  water,  glided  down  his  throat,  so  as  to 
produce  all  the  horrid  sensations  of  a  person 


84  HISTORY    OP 

who  is  drowning.  At  other  times  his  face 
was  covered  with  a  thin  piece  of  Unen, 
through  which  the  water  ran  into  his  mouth 
and  nostrils,  and  prevented  him  from  breath- 
ing. Of  such  a  form  did  the  Incuisition  of 
Valladohd  make  use,  in  1528,  towards  the 
Hcentiate  Juan  Salas,  physician  of  that  city. 

"  For  the  torture  by  fire,  the  prisoner  was 
placed  with  his  legs  naked  in  the  stocks ;  the 
soles  of  his  feet  were  then  well  greased  with 
lard,  and  a  blazing  chafing-dish  applied  to 
them,  by  the  heat  of  which  they  became  per- 
fectly fried.  When  his  complaints  of  the 
pain  were  loudest,  a  board  was  placed  be- 
tween his  feet  and  the  fire,  and  he  was  again 
commanded  to  confess,  but  this  was  taken 
away  if  he  persisted  in  his  obstinacy.  This 
species  of  torture  was  deemed  the  most  cruel 
of  all ;  but  this,  as  well  as  the  others,  was 
indiscriminately  applied  to  persons  of  both 
sexes,  at  the  will  of  the  judges,  according 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  crime,  and  the 
strength  of  the  delinquents. 

"The  torture  by  fire,  however,  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  much  in  use  except  in 
Italy,  and  this  when  the  culprit  was  lame, 
or  through  any  other  impediment  prevented 
from  being  suspended  by  the  pulley.  In  the 
latter  country  also,  other  minor  tortures  were 
used  with  persons  unable  to  withstand  those 
already  described.  Such  were  that  of  the 
dice,  of  the  canes,  and  of  the  rods.  For  the 
first,    the    prisoner   was    extended   on    the 


THE    INQUISITION.  85 

ground,  and  two  pieces  of  iron  shaped  like 
a  die,  but  concave  on  one  side,  were  placed 
on  the  heel  of  his  right  foot,  then  bound  fast 
on  with  a  rope,  which  was  pulled  tight  with 
a  screw.  That  of  the  canes  was  performed 
by  a  hard  piece  being  put  between  each 
finger,  bound,  and  then  screwed  as  above. 
That  of  the  rods  was  inflicted  on  boys  who 
had  passed  their  ninth  year,  but  had  not  yet 
reached  the  age  of  puberty,  by  binding  them 
to  a  post,  and  then  flogging  them  with  rods. 
"  The  duration  of  the  torture,  by  a  bull  of 
Paul  III.  could  not  exceed  an  hour;  and  if 
in  the  Inquisition  of  Italy,  it  was  not  usual 
for  it  to  last  so  long,  in  that  of  Spain,  which 
has  always  boasted  of  surpassing  all  others 
in  zeal  for  the  faith,  I.  was  prolonged  to  an 
hour  and  a  quarter.  The  sufferer,  through 
the  intensity  of  pain,  was  sometimes  left 
senseless,  for  which  case  a  physician  was 
always  in  attendance,  to  inform  the  court 
whether  the  paroxysm  was  real  or  feigned ; 
and  according  to  his  opinion,  the  torture  was 
continued  or  suspended.  When  the  victim 
remained  firm  in  his  denial,  and  overcame 
the  pangs  inflicted  on  him — or  when,  after 
confessing  under  them,  he  refused  to  ratify 
his  confession  within  twenty-four  hours  after- 
wards— he  has  been  forced  to  undergo  as  far 
as  three  tortures,  with  only  one  day's  inter- 
val between  each.  Thus  whilst  his  imagina- 
tion was  still  filled  with  the  dreadfu  idea  of 
his  past  suflerings,  which  the  <Co  ipilation 
8 


86  HISTORY    OF 

of  Instructions'  itself  calls  agony,  his  limbs 
stiff  and  sore,  and  his  strength  debilitated,  he 
was  called  upon  to  give  fresh  proofs  of  his 
constancy,  and  again  endure  the  horrid  spec- 
tacle, as  well  as  the  repetition  of  excruciating 
pangs,  tending  to  rend  his  whole  frame  to 
pieces." 

But  enough,  and  more  than  enough  has 
been  brought  forward,  on  this  inhuman  and 
revolting  practice  of  men,  who  nevertheless 
style  themselves  priests  of  the  compassionate 
Redeemer  !  !  Rather  may  we  not  call  them 
and  does  not  their  horrid  conduct  entitle 
them  to  the  appellation  of  ministers  of  dark- 
ness, and  monsters  of  cruelty  ?  "  My  soul 
come  not  thou  into  their  secret ;  unto  their 
assembly,  mine  honour,  be  not  thou  united." 

Such  is  a  specimen  of  the  tortures  of  the 
Inquisition,  when  there  is  not  sufficient  proof 
of  the  crimes  of  which  their  unhappy  victims 
are  accused.  Instances,  however,  are  on 
record,  where  the  torture  has  been  inflicted 
on  persons  who  are  condemned  to  death,  as 
an  additional  punishment !  One  of  these 
may  be  mentioned  here.  William  Lithgow 
a  British  subject,  informs  us  in  his  travels, 
that,  in  1620,  he  was  apprehended  at  Malaga, 
in  Spain,  as  a  spy,  and  exposed  to  the  most 
cruel  torments  on  what  is  called  the  wooden 
horse.  But  nothing  having  been  extorted 
from  him,  he  was  delivered  over  to  the  In- 
quisition, as  a  heretic,  under  pretence  that 
his  journal    contained    blasphemies   against 


THE    INQUISITION.  87 

the  Pope  and  the  Virgin  Mary.  Ila  -ing  ac- 
knowledged, in  presence  of  tlie  Inquisitor, 
that  he  was  a  Protestant,  he  was  admonished 
to  return  to  the  Popish  faith,  and  allowed 
eight  days  in  a  dungeon  to  deliberate  on  his 
conversion.  In  the  mean  time  the  Inquisitor 
and  his  minions  often  visited  him,  in  order  to 
persuade  him  to  renounce  his  opinions— 
sometimes  promising,  sometimes  threatening, 
and  sometimes  disputing  with  him  on  the 
heretical  nature  of  his  tenets.  All  their 
efforts  being  in  vain,  Lithgow  was  con- 
demned, first  to  suffer  eleven  of  the  crudest 
tortures,  and  then  to  be  carried  privately  to 
Grenada,  and  burnt  at  midnight.  He  was 
accordingly  carried  to  the  hall  of  torture, 
where  the  inhuman  process  of  filling  him 
with  water  till  he  was  ready  to  burst,  was 
first  resorted  to.  They  next  tied  a  cord 
round  his  neck,  and  rolled  him  seven  times 
along  the  floor,  till  he  was  nearly  strangled, 
after  which  they  hung  him  up  by  the  feet 
till  all  the  water  in  his  bowels  had  disgorged 
itself  at  his  mouth.  These  and  other  cruel- 
ties having  been  finished,  during  which,  not- 
withstanding the  agonies  he  endured,  he 
made  no  confession,  he  was  remanded  to  his 
dungeon,  till  the  last  part  of  his  sentence 
could  be  executed.  But,  by  a  remarkable 
interposition  of  Divine  Providence,  he  was 
shortly  afterwards  delivered  out  of  thdr 
hands,  and  arrived  safely  in  England. 

Should   the    prisoner,   as   already   "tatcd 


P8  HISTORY    OF 

make  confession  while  endnring  the  torture, 
that  confession  is  immediately  taken  dowL 
by  the  notary ;  after  which  he  is  carried  to 
another  place,  where  his  confession  is  read 
over  to  him,  and  he  is  required  to  subscribe 
it.  But  here  Gonsalvius  observes,  "that 
when  the  prisoner  is  carried  to  audience, 
they  make  him  pass  by  the  door  of  the  room 
where  the  torture  was  inflicted,  where  the 
executioner  shows  himself,  in  that  shape  of 
a  devil  described  before,  that,  as  he  passes 
by,  he  may,  by  seeing  him,  be  forced  to  feel, 
as  it  were,  over  again,  his  past  torments." 

If  there  be  very  strong  evidence  against 
the  accused — if  new  proofs  of  his  guilt  be 
brought  forward — or,  if  it  be  considered  that 
he  was  not  sufficiently  tortured  formerly,  he 
may  be  subjected  to  this  cruel  ordeal  again, 
"  when  his  body  and  mind  are  able  to  en- 
dure it." 

Ever  ready  to  inflict  punishment,  the  In- 
quisitors not  unfrequently  condemn  the  inno- 
cent to  endure  the  most  excruciating  tortures ; 
and,  after  subjecting  them  to  agony  or  death, 
in  solemn  mockery  pronounce  them  to  be 
'nnocent.  The  following  example,  illustra- 
tive of  such  unheard  of  barbarity,  occurred 
at  Seville,  in  1559.  Maria  de  Bohorques, 
the  natural  daughter  of  a  Spanish  grandee 
of  the  first  class,  avowed  her  faith  before  the 
Inquisitors,  defended  it  as  the  ancient  truth 
of  God,  and  was  tortured  to  induce  her  to 
implicate  I  ler  friends.     First,  two  Jesuits,  and 


THE    INQUISITION.  89 

then  two  Dominicans,  were  sent  lo  d(ibate 
with  or  ensnare  her  ;  but  she  continutid  sted- 
fast — her  convictions  acquired  strength,  and 
her  views  grew  clearer  during  the  discus- 
sions; and  nothing  remained  for  Maria,  but 
to  form  her  part  in  the  bloody  pageant  of  an 
auto-da  fe.  She  there  tried  to  comfort  her 
companions  in  tribulation,  but  was  gagged. 
Her  sentence  was  read,  the  gag  removed, 
and  she  was  asked  to  recant.  "  I  neither  can 
nor  will,"  was  the  resolute  reply  ;  and  she 
proceeded  to  the  place  of  execution.  After 
she  was  bound  to  the  stake,  the  lighting  of 
the  pile  was  delayed  for  a  little,  that  another 
attempt  might  be  made  to  reclaim  her.  She 
was,  by  the  grace  of  God,  immovable  still — 
was  strangled,  and  burned,  one  of  her  last 
employments  being  to  comment  on  the  creed 
in  the  Protestant  sense.  In  1560,  no  fewer 
than  eight  females,  of  irreproachable  charac- 
ter, and  some  of  them  distinguished  by  rank 
and  learning,  perished  in  a  similar  manner 
in  another  Auto  at  Seville.  Maria  Gomez, 
her  three  sisters,  and  her  daughter,  were  of 
the  number.  After  being  sentenced  to  the 
flames,  the  young  woman  thanked  one  of  her 
aunts,  who  had  taught  her  the  truth ;  and 
then,  amid  many  affectionate  expressions,  ac- 
companied with  confidence  in  Him  for  whose 
truth  they  were  dying,  they  prepared  for 
their  fiery  doom.  After  describing  the  touch- 
ing scene.  Dr.  M'Crie  inforr  s  us,  that  "so 
completely  had  superstition  and  habit  sub- 
8* 


90  HISTORY    OF 

dued  the  strongest  emotions  of  the  human 
breast,  that  not  a  single  expression  of  sympa- 
thy escaped  from  the  multitude  at  witness- 
ing a  scene  which,  in  other  circumstances, 
would  have  harrowed  up  the  feelings  of  the 
spectators,  and  driven  them  into  mutiny." 

We  know  that  these  details  must  lacerate 
the  feelings  of  our  readers ;  but  it  is  needful 
fully  to  elucidate  the  spirit  of  Popery,  where- 
ever  it  appears  full-grown.  To  complete  our 
abstract,  therefore,  we  must  further  narrate, 
that,  at  the  same  Auto,  an  event  took  place 
which  gives  the  Inquisitors  a  full  title  to  the 
epithet  of  Cannibals,  which  it  caused  to  be 
applied  to  them.  Dona  Juana  de  Xeres  y 
Borhorques  had  been  apprehended,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  confession  extorted  from  her  sis- 
ter Maria  by  the  rack.  Being  six  months 
gone  in  pregnancy.  Dona  Juana  was  impri- 
soned in  the  pubUc  jail  till  her  delivery. 
Eight  days  thereafter  her  child  was  taken 
from  her,  and  she  was  placed  in  a  cell  in  the 
Inquisition.  A  young  woman  was  imprison- 
ed beside  her,  who  exerted  herself  to  the 
utmost  to  promote  the  afflicted  lady's  re- 
covery ;  but  the  attendant  was  soon  subjected 
to  the  torture  herself,  and  remitted  to  her 
cell  mangled  by  the  process.  As  soon  as 
Dona  Juana  could  rise  from  her  bed  of 
rushes,  she  was  in  her  turn  tortured  by  the 
Inquisitors.  She  would  not  confess.  She 
was  placed  on  one  of  their  instruments  of 
crueltv      The  cords  penetrated  through  the 


THE    INQUISITION.  9x 

delicate  flesh  to  the  bone  of  her  arms  and 
legs.  Some  of  the  internal  vessels  burst. 
The  blood  flowed  in  streams  from  her  mouth 
and  nostrils.  She  was  conveyed  to  her  cell 
in  a  state  of  insensibility,  and  died  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days.  The  Inquisitors,  for 
once,  pronounced  the  lady  whom  they  had 
murdered,  innocent,  on  the  day  of  the  Auto. 
They  feared  the  recoil  which  their  atrocity 
might  have  occasioned  ;  so  that  in  this  fiend- 
ish proceeding  we  see  Popery  in  its  twofold 
character — shedding  the  blood  of  God's 
saints,  and  then  like  a  dastard  or  a  syco- 
phant, fawning  upon  those  whom  it  has  in- 
jured, when  there  is  danger  of  retaliation. 

"  The  punishments  inflicted  by  the  Inquisi- 
tion," says  a  modern  writer,  "  may  be  re- 
garded as  of  two  sorts, — punishments  not  is- 
suing in  death,  and  punishments  which  have 
that  issue.  Under  the  first  of  these  heads 
are  comprehended  the  ecclesiastical  punish- 
ments, such  as  penances,  excommunication, 
interdict,  and  the  deprivation  of  clerical  offices 
and  dignities;  and  under  this  head  too,  are 
included  the  confiscation  of  goods,  the  disin- 
heriting of  children,  for  no  child,  though  he 
be  a  Catholic,  can  inherit  the  property  of  a 
father  dying  in  heresy ;  the  loss  of  all  right 
to  obedience,  on  the  part  of  kings  and  other 
feudal  superiors,  and  a  corresponding  loss  of 
right  to  the  fulfilment  of  oaths  and  obligations 
on  the  part  of  subjects;  imprisonment  in 
nj  ■)nasteries  or  in  jails,  whipping,  the  galleys, 


92  HISTORY    OF 

and  the  ban  of  the  empire.  Under  the  second 
head,  or  that  of  punishments  issuing  in  death, 
there  are  only  two  instances,  viz  :  strangling 
at  the  stake,  and  death  by  fire.  These  in- 
stances may  easily  be  comprehended  in  a 
short  account  of  the  auto-da-fe." 

"  In  the  procession  of  the  auto-da-fe," 
says  Dr.  Geddes,  "the  monks  of  the  ordei 
of  St.  Dominic  walk  first.  These  carry 
the  standard  of  the  Inquisition,  bearing  on 
the  one  side  the  picture  of  St.  Dominic  him- 
self, curiously  wrought  in  needle-work,  and 
on  the  other,  the  figure  of  the  cross  between 
those  of  an  olive  branch  and  a  naked  sword, 
with  the  motto  ^justitia  et  misericordia.^ 
Immediately  after  the  Dominicans,  come  the 
penitents,  dressed  in  black  coats  without 
sleeves,  barefooted,  and  with  wax  candles  in 
their  hands.  Among  them,  the  principal 
offenders  wear  the  infamous  habit  called  the 
sanbenito.  Next  come  the  penitents,  who 
have  narrowly  escaped  the  punishment  of 
death ;  and  these  have  flames  painted  upon 
their  garments  or  benitoes,  but  with  the 
points  of  the  flames  turned  downwards,  im- 
porting that  they  have  been  saved,  <yet  so 
as  by  fire.'  Next  come  the  negative  and  the 
relapsed,  the  wretches  who  are  doomed  to 
the  stake ;  these  also  have  flames  upon  their 
habits,  but  pointing  upwards.  After  the  ne- 
gative and  the  relapsed,  come  the  guilty  and 
the  impenitent,  or  those  who  have  been  con- 
victed of  heresy,  and  who  persist  in  it ;  and 


THE    INQUISITION.  93 

these,  besides  the  flames  pointing  upwards, 
have  their  picture  (drawn  for  tliat  purpose  a 
few  days  before,)  upon  their  breasts,  with 
dogs,  serpents,  and  devils,  all  with  open 
mouths,  painted  about  it.  This  part  of  the 
procession  is  closed  by  a  number  of  indi- 
viduals carrying  the  figures  of  those  who 
have  died  in  heresy,  or  large  chests,  painted 
black,  and  marked  with  serpents  and  devils, 
containing  their  bones  dug  out  of  their 
graves,  in  order  that  they  may  be  reduced 
to  ashes.  A  troop  of  familiars  on  horseback 
follow  the  prisoners;  and  after  these  come  the 
subordinate  Inquisitors,  and  other  function- 
aries of  the  Holy  Office,  upon  mules ;  and 
last  of  all  comes  the  Inquisitor-general  him- 
self, in  a  rich  dress,  mounted  upon  a  white 
horse,  and  attended  by  all  the  nobility  who 
are  not  employed  as  familiars  in  the  proces- 
sion. The  train  moves  slowly  along,  the 
great  bell  of  the  cathedral  tolling  at  proper 
intervals. 

"  At  the  place  of  execution,  stakes  are  set 
up  according  to  the  number  of  the  sufferers. 
They  are  usually  about  twelve  feU  in  height, 
and  at  the  bottom  of  each  there  is  placed  a 
considerable  quantity  of  dry  furze.  The 
negative  and  the  relapsed  are  first  strangled 
at  the  stake,  and  afterwards  burnt.  The 
convicted  and  the  impenitent,  or  the  profess- 
ed, as  they  are  otherwise  called,  are  burnt 
alive.  To  these,  certain  Jesuits  who  are  ap- 
po/nted  to  attend  them,  address  many  exhor- 


94  HISTORY    OF 

tations,  imploring  them  to  be  reconciled  to 
the  Church  of  Rome,  but  commonly  without 
effect.  The  executioner  therefore  ascends, 
and  turns  the  prisoners  off  from  the  ladder, 
upon  a  small  board  fastened  to  the  stake, 
within  half  a  yard  of  the  top ;  and  the  Je- 
suits having  declared,  '  that  they  leave  them 
to  the  devil  who  is  standing  at  their  elbow,' 
to  receive  their  souls  as  soon  as  they  have 
quitted  their  bodies,  a  great  shout  is  raised, 
and  the  whole  multitude  unite  in  crying, '  let 
the  dogs'  beards  be  trimmed,  let  the  dogs' 
beards  be  trimmed.'  This  is  done  by  thrust- 
ing flaming  furze,  tied  to  the  end  of  a  long 
pole,  against  their  faces ;  and  the  process  is 
often  continued  till  the  features  of  the  pri- 
soners are  all  wasted  away,  and  they  can  be 
no  longer  known  by  their  looks.  The  furze 
at  the  bottom  of  the  stake  is  then  set  on  fire, 
but  as  the  sufferers  are  raised  to  the  height 
of  ten  feet  above  the  ground,  the  flames  sel- 
dom reach  beyond  their  knees,  so  that  they 
really  are  roasted,  and  not  burnt  to  death. — 
Yet  though,  out  of  hell,"  as  Dr.  Geddes  adds, 
"  there  cannot  be  a  more  lamentable  specta- 
cle than  this,  it  is  beheld  by  people  of  both 
sexes,  and  of  all  ages,  with  the  utmost  de- 
monstrations of  joy — a  bull  feast,  or  a  farce, 
being  dull  entertainments  compared  with  an 
auto-da-fe." 

In  order,  however,  to  give  the  reader  a 
still  more  distinct  account  of  the  parade  and 
ceremony  attending  an  auto-da-fe,  we  shall 


THE    INQUISITION.  95 

select  the  celebrated  one  which  took  place  at 
Madrid  in  IGSO,  in  presence  of  Charles  II. 
and  the  royal  family.  On  the  day  appointed, 
the  procession  began  to  move  from  the  In- 
quisition, in  the  following  order,  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning. 

"  The  soldiers  of  the  faith  came  first,  and 
cleared  the  way;  next  followed  the  cross  of 
the  parish  of  St.  Martin,  covered  with  black, 
and  accompanied  by  twelve  priests  clothed 
in  surplices,  and  a  clergyman  with  a  pluvial 
cope ;  then  came  the  prisoners  to  the  amount 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty,  seventy-two  of 
whom  were  women,  and  forty-eight  men ; 
some  came  forth  in  effigy,  and  the  remainder 
in  person.  First  in  the  order  of  procession 
were  the  effigies  of  those  condemned  persons 
who  had  died  or  made  their  escape,  and 
amounting  in  all  to  thirty-four  ;  their  names 
were  inscribed  in  large  letters  on  the  breast 
of  their  effigies;  and  those  who  had  been 
condemned  to  be  burned,  besides  the  coroza 
or  cap  on  their  heads,  had  flames  represented 
on  their  dress ;  and  some  bore  boxes  in  their 
hands,  containing  the  bones  of  their  corres- 
ponding originals.  Next  came  the  fifty-four 
who  had  been  reconciled,  the  most  guilty 
wearing  a  sanbenito  with  only  one  branch, 
and  carrying  in  t\.ieir  hands,  as  did  also  the 
above,  a  yellow  candle  unlighted.  Lastly 
came  twenty-one  prisoners  condemned  to 
death,  each  with  his  coroza  and  sanbenito 
coriespo  ding  to  the  nature  of  his  crime,  and 


96  HISTORY    OF 

the  most  of  them  with  gags  on  their  mouths  : 
they  were  accompanied  by  numerous  fami- 
liars of  the  Inquisition  in  the  character  of 
patrons,  and  were  besides  each  attended  by 
two  friars,  who  comforted  the  penitent,  and 
exhorted  the  obdurate.  The  whole  of  this 
part  of  the  ceremony  was  closed  by  the  high 
bailiff  of  Toledo  and  his  attendants.  Behind 
the  effigy  of  each  culprit  were  also  conveyed 
boxes  containing  their  books,  when  any  had 
been  seized  with  them,  for  the  purpose  of 
also  being  cast  into  the  flames.  The  courts 
of  the  Inquisition  followed  immediately  after, 
preceded  by  the  secretaries  of  those  of  To- 
ledo and  Madrid,  with  a  great  number  of 
commissaries  and  familiars ;  among  whom 
walked  the  two  stewards  of  the  congrega- 
tion of  St.  Peter  Martyr,  carrying  the  sen- 
tences of  the  criminals  inclosed  in  two  pre- 
cious caskets.  So  far  the  procession  on  foot. 
"  Next,  on  horseback,  paraded  the  sheriffs 
and  other  ministers  of  the  city,  together  with 
the  chief  bailiffs  of  the  Madrid  Inquisition. 
Then  came  a  long  string  of  familiars  on 
horses,  richly  and  variously  caparisoned, 
wearing  the  habit  of  the  Inquisition  over 
their  own  dress,  the  proper  insignia  on  their 
breasts,  and  staffs  raised  in  their  hands.  In 
succession  followed  a  great  number  of  eccle- 
siastical ministers ;  such  as  notaries,  commis- 
saries, and  qualificators,  all  bearing  the  same 
insignia,  and  mounted  on  mules  with  black 
trappings.     Behind  them  went  the  corpora- 


THE    INQUISITION.  97 

tion  of  Madrid,  preceded  by  the  niay.>r,  and 
followed  by  the  fiscal-proctor  of  the  tribunal 
of  Toledo,  who  carried  the  standard  of  the 
faith,  of  red  damask,  with  the  jirms  of  the 
Inquisition  and  of  the  king,  accjmpanied  by 
the  royal  council  and  board  of  Castile.  Lastly 
came  the  Inquisitor-general,  placed  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  president  of  the  council,  an 
office  at  that  time  filled  by  the  Bishop  of 
Avila.  He  was  accompanied  by  an  escort 
of  fifty  halberdiers,  dressed  in  satin.  He  was 
clothed  in  a  suit  of  black  silk,  embroidered 
in  silver,  with  diamond  buttons,  &c.  and 
attended  by  eighteen  livery  servants.  The 
whole  of  the  procession  was  closed  with  the 
state  sedan  chair  and  coach,  belonging  to  the 
Inquisitor-general,  together  with  other  coach- 
es, in  which  were  his  chaplains  and  pages. 

"  On  the  arrival  of  the  procession  at  the 
theatre,  which  had  been  fitted  up  for  the 
occasion,  the  prisoners  ascended  by  the  stair- 
case nearest  their  destined  seats  ;  but,  before 
occupying  them,  they  were  all  paraded  round 
the  stage,  in  order  that  their  majesties,  who 
were  already  seated  in  their  balcony,  might 
have  the  satisfaction  of  viewing  them  near. 
The  tribunals,  and  persons  invited,  then  pro- 
ceeded to  take  their  respective  seats,  and  the 
Inquisitor-general  ascended  his  throne.  Mass 
being  commenced,  and  the  gospel  ended,  the 
oldest  secretary  of  the  tribunal  of  Toledo, 
read  from  the  pulpit  the  form  of  the  oath 
taken  by  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Madrid,  as 
9 


08  HISTORY    OP 

well  as  by  all  the  people.  A  bombastic  ser- 
mon was  then  preached  by  a  Dominican 
friar,  qualificator  of  the  supreme  council  of 
the  Inquisition,  and  preacher  to  the  king. 
After  sermon  they  proceeded  to  the  reading 
of  the  trials  and  sentences,  beginning  with 
those  who  had  been  condemned  to  die.  This 
part  of  the  ceremony  lasted  till  four  in  the 
afternoon,  when  those  who  were  condemned 
to  death  were  delivered  over  to  the  civil  ma- 
gistrates, and  whilst  the  latter  proceeded  on 
to  the  place  of  execution,  and  met  their  final 
end,  the  reading  of  the  proceedings  con- 
tinued, as  well  as  the  abjurations  of  those 
who  had  been  reconciled,  which  lasted  till 
half-past  nine  at  night,  when  those  who  had 
been  absolved  returned  to  the  prisons  of  the 
Inquisition. 

"  The  prisoners  personally  condemned  to 
death,  amounted  to  nineteen ;  thirteen  men, 
and  six  women,  principally  of  the  Jewish 
persuasion.  They  were  conducted  to  the 
gate  of  Fuencarrel,  mounted  on  mules  with 
pack-saddles,  preceded  by  the  effigies  of  those 
who  had  died  or  made  their  escape.  Of  thc^je 
personally  condemned  for  execution,  eleven 
were  impenitents ;  viz.  eight  obdurates,  and 
three  convicted,  but  refusing  to  confess.  The 
burning  place  was  sixty  feet  square,  and 
seven  high,  and  consequently  sufficiently 
capacious,  when  twenty  stakes  with  their 
corresponding  rings  were  fastened  thereon. 
Some    were    previo  isly   strangled,   and   the 


THR    INQUISITION.  9? 

Others  at  once  thrown  into  the  fire.  Tlie 
ministers  having  cast  the  bodies  of  those 
who  were  strangled  into  the  flames,  together 
with  the  efligies  and  bones  of  the  deceased, 
more  fuel  was  added,  till  all  was  converted 
into  ashes,  which  was  not  till  nine  in  the 
morning.  Two  days  afterwards,  six  of  those 
who  had  been  condemned  to  do  penance 
were  flogged,  among  whom  were  two  wo- 
men. Such  was  the  form  and  solemnity  of 
this  auto-da-fe,  the  largest  and  most  splendid 
ever  known." 

The  penitential  habits  with  which  the  In- 
quisitors array  the  culprits  at  an  auto-da-fe, 
are  truly  ludicrous.  A  garment  or  tunic  of 
yellow  linen  or  cloth,  reaching  down  to  the 
knees,  which  is  called  the  sanbenito,  and  a 
conical  cap  called  the  coroza,  are  the  dress 
of  the  victims  of  the  Holy  Ofiice.  When  the 
person  is  to  be  executed  as  impenitent,  both 
the  sanbenito  and  coroza  are  embellished 
with  flames  and  pictures  of  devils,  and  a 
rude  likeness  of  the  individual  who  wears 
them,  is  also  painted  on  the  sanbenito,  burn- 
ing in  flames,  with  several  figures  of  dragons 
and  devils  in  the  act  of  fanning  them.  When 
the  individual  has  repented  after  sentence  has 
been  pronounced,  he  wears  the  same  dress, 
but  the  flames  are  reversed,  to  show  that  the 
culprit  is  not  to  be  burnt  until  he  has  been 
strangled.  Those  who  only  do  penance, 
wear  the  tunic  either  with  or  without  a  cross, 


100  HISTORY    OF 

according  to   the  different  degrees  of  crime 
of  which  they  have  been  convicted. 

It  only  remains  to  mention  here,  the  hypo- 
critical manner  in  which  the  Inquisitors  de- 
iver  over  those  who  are  sentenced  to  death, 
into  the  hands  of  the  secular  power.  Having 
declared  the  condemned  individual  "  an  apos- 
tate heretic,  a  defaulter,  and  an  abettor  of 
heretics,  and  that  he  has  thereby  fallen  into 
and  incurred  the  sentence  of  grievous  excom- 
munication," &c.  they,  adding  insult  to  cru- 
elty, add, "  Nevertheless  we  earnestly  beseech 
and  enjoin  the  said  secular  arm,  to  deal  so 
tenderly  and  compassionately  with  him,  as  to 
prevent  the  effusion  of  blood,  or  danger  of 
death  ! !"  No  words  can  do  justice  to  such 
a  master-piece  of  hypocrisy  ;  for  let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  Inquisition  positively 
commands  the  civil  magistrate  to  put  the 
condemned  to  death.  The  gross  falsehood 
of  its  professions,  therefore — the  aspect  of 
meekness  which  it  thus  displays,  while  it 
thirsts  for  the  blood  of,  and.  dooms  to  the 
flames,  its  wretched  victim — literally  prove 
that  "there  is  no  faithfulness  in  their  mouth — . 
that  their  inward  part  is  very  wickedness— 
and  that  their  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre." 
"Is  there  in  all  history,"  says  Dr.  Geddes 
"  an  instance  of  so  gross  and  confident  a 
mockery  of  God,  and  the  world,  as  this  of 
the  Inquisition,  beseeching  the  civil  magis- 
trate not  to  put  the  heretics  they  have  con- 
demned and  delive-^d  to  them  to  death  ?    For 


THE    INQUISITION.  101 

were  they  in  earnest  when  they  mh-de  this 
solemn  petition  to  the  secnlar  magistrates, 
why  do  they  bring  their  prisoners  out  of  the 
Inquisition,  and  deliver  them  to  those  magis- 
trates with  coats  painted  over  with  flames  ? 
Why  do  they  teach  that  heretics,  above  all 
other  malefactors,  ought  to  be  punished  with 
death  ?  And  why  do  they  never  resent  the 
secular  magistrates  having  so  little  regard  to 
their  earnest  and  joint  petition,  as  never  to 
fail  to  burn  all  the  heretics  that  are  delivered 
to  them  by  the  Inquisition,  within  an  hour  or 
two  after  they  have  them  in  their  hands  ? 
And  why,  in  Rome,  where  the  supreme,  civil, 
and  ecclesiastical  authority  are  lodged  in  the 
same  person,  is  this  petition  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion, which  is  made  there  as  well  as  in  other 
places,  never  granted?"  The  truth  is,  as 
already  noticed,  the  Inquisitors  are  com- 
manded by  the  bulls  of  various  Popes,  to 
compel  the  civil  magistrate,  under  penalty  of 
excommunication,  and  other  ecclesiastical 
censures,  within  six  days,  readily  to  execute 
the  sentences  pronounced  by  the  Inquisitors 
against  heretics,  that  is,*  to  commit  them  to 
the  flames ! 

0* 


HISTORY    OF 


CHAPTER  V. 

\uto-da-f5  celebrated  at  Seville  in  1560 — proceedings 
of  the  Inquisition  during  the  reigns  of  Philip  III. 
Philip  IV.  and  Charles  II.— M.  Legal,  the  French 
commander,  throws  open  the  doors  of  the  Inquisition, 
and  liberates  the  prisoners — state  of  the  Inquisition 
during  the  reigns  of  Ferdinand  VI.  Charles  III.  and 
Charles  IV. — it  is  suppressed  by  Bonaparte — is  re- 
established by  Ferdinand  VII. — persecuting  spirit  o^ 
the  modern  Inquisition. 

Previous  to  giving  any  further  account  of 
individual  persecutions  by  the  Inquisition, 
we  shall  now  resume  the  history  of  that 
tribunal  in  Spain.  On  the  22d  of  December 
1560,  a  splendid  auto-da-fe  was  celebrated 
at  Seville,  at  which  fourteen  individuals 
were  burnt  in  person,  three  in  effigy,  and 
thirty-four  were  subjected  to  various  penan- 
ces. *  Several  of  the  sufferers  were  Eng- 
lishmen, whose  only  crime  was  that  they 
possessed  wealth.  Under  the  pretext  that 
they  were  guilty  of  heresy,  their  property 

•  Constantine  Ponce  de  la  Fuente,  one  of  the  victims, 
was  persecuted  with  so  great  a  degree  of  barbarity,  that 
tift  exclaimed,  "  My  God,  were  there  no  Scythians  or 
cannibals  into  whose  hands  to  deliver  me,  rather  than 
to  let  me  fall  into  the  power  of  these  barbarians !" — 
Olmedus,  another  sufferer  at  Seville,  who  died  in  prison 
from  bad  treatment,  was  once  heard  to  exclaim, "  Throw 
me  any  where,  O  my  God,  so  that  I  may  but  escape  the 
hands  c  f  these  wretches." 


THE    INQUISITION  103 

was  seized  by  the  hands  of  the  avaricious 
Inquisitors,  and  not  a  few  of  them  were  con- 
demned to  the  flames.* 

In   1561,   the    Inquisitor-general,    Valdes, 

•  The  unspeakable  cruelty  and  inhumanity  exhibited 
at  an  auto-da-ft^,  with  its  effects  on  the  public  mind  are 
exhibited  briefly  in  the  following  account: — "Amid  this 
horrid  exhibition  scenes  of  atrocity  occurred  which  it 
is  appalling  even  to  describe.  Those  about  to  be  put 
to  death  were  teased  by  Jesuits  to  recant.  The  execu- 
tioners and  these  ghostly  attendants  united  their  endea- 
vours to  add  to  the  misery  of  their  victims;  and  when 
there  was  no  hope  of  recantation,  they  were  left  in  the 
hand  of  him  who  was  supposed  to  be  the  fomenier  of 
their  heresy — Satan.  When  the  priests  abandoned 
them,  a  shout  was  raised  by  the  people.  This  was  like 
the  death-knell,  and,  amid  coarse  and  ribald  expres- 
sions, blazing  furze  was  first  thrust  into  the  faces  of  the 
sufl'erers.  This  inhumanity  was  commonly  continued 
until  the  face  was  black  as  coal,  and  was  accompanied 
with  loud  acclamations  from  the  spectators.  If  the 
wind  was  moderate,  the  agony  of  the  murdered  men 
lasted  perhaps  for  half  an  hour,  but  on  other  occasions 
an  hour  and  a  half  or  two  hours  were  needed  to  termi- 
nate their  sufferings. 

"In  the  year  1706,  Mr.  Wilcox,  afterwards  bishcp  of 
Rochester,  was  chaplain  to  the  English  factory  at  Lis- 
bon, and  furnished  Burnet,  bishop  of  Salisbury,  with 
the  following  account  of  an  auto-da-fd",  at  which  Wil- 
cox attended  as  a  spectator.  'Five  condemned  persons 
appeared,'  he  says,  'but  only  four  were  burnt — Antonio 
Travanes  being  reprieved  after  the  procession.  Heytor 
Dias  and  Maria  Pinteyra  were  burned  alive,  and  the 
other  two  were  strangled.  The  woman,'  says  Wilcox, 
♦  was  alive  in  the  flames  for  half  an  hour,  and  the  man 
above  an  hour.  The  king  and  his  brother  were  seated 
at  a  window  so  near  as  to  be  addressed  for  a  consider- 
able time,  in  very  moving  terms,  by  the  man  as  he  was 
burning;  and  tl  lugh  he  asked  only  a  few  more  faggots, 


104  KISTORY    OF 

published  a  new  code  of  laws,  for  the  regu- 
lation of  the  different  tribunals  of  the  "  Holy- 
Office"  throughout  Spain.  This  code  con- 
sisted of  eighty-one  articles,  "  which  have 
been,  till  the  present  time,  the  laws  by  which 
the  proceedings  of  the  Inquisition  have  been 
regulated."* 

From  1560  to  1570,  one  auto-da-f^,  at 
least,  was  celebrated  annually  in  every  In- 
quisition throughout  Spain,  at  which  many 
adherents  of  the  Reformation  were  consign- 

he  was  not  able  to  obtain  them.  Those  who  were 
burned  alive,'  Wilcox  continues,  *  are  seated  on  a  bench 
twelve  feet  high,  fastened  to  a  pole,  and  above  six  feet 
higher  than  the  faggots.  The  wind  being  a  little  fresh, 
the  man's  hinder  parts  were  perfectly  roasted;  and  as 
he  turned  himself,  his  ribs  opened  before  he  ceased  to 
speak,  the  fire  being  recruited  only  so  far  as  to  keep 
him  in  the  same  degree  of  heat.  All  his  entreaties 
could  not  procure  for  him  a  larger  allowance  of  wood 
to  shorten  his  misery  and  despatch  him.' 

<"But,  though  out  of  hell,'  says  one  who  witnessed 
an  auto-da-fe,  '  there  cannot  possibly  be  a  more  lament- 
able spectacle  than  this,  added  to  the  sufferers  (as  long 
as  they  can  speak)  crying  out, '  Misericordia  por  amor 
di  Dios  /'  (Mercy,  for  the  love  of  God  !)  yet  it  is  beheld 
by  people  of  both  sexes,  and  all  ages,  with  such  trans- 
ports of  joy  and  satisfaction  as  are  not,  on  any  other 
occasion,  to  be  met  with.'  He  adds,  at  another  place: 
That  the  reader  may  not  think  that  this  inhuman  joy 
is  the  effect  of  a  natural  cruelty  that  is  in  these  people's 
dispositions,  and  not  of  the  spirit  of  their  religion,  he 
may  rest  assured  that  all  public  malefactors,  except 
heretics,  have  their  violent  deaths  nowhere  more  ten- 
derly lamented  than  amongst  the  same  people,  even 
when  there  is  nothing  in  the  manner  of  their  deaths 
•hat  appears  inhuman  or  cruel.'" 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  II. 


THE    INQUISITION  105 

ed  to  the  flames.  Thirty  individuals  were 
burnt  at  Murcia  ia  1560,  twenty-three  in 
1562,  seventeen  in  1563,  and  thirty  five  in 
the  two  years  following,  besides  many  in 
efligy  ;  and  great  numbers  were  condemned 
to  ditierent  other  punishments.  Similar  tra- 
gedies were  acted  in  Toledo,  Saragossa,  Gre- 
nada, &c.,  where  not  a  few  of  the  victims 
who  were  sacrificed  to  the  cruelty  of  this 
barbarous  tribunal  were  the  disciples  of  Lu- 
ther and  Calvin. 

During  the  remaining  years  of  Philip  II. 
the  power  and  insolence  of  the  Inquisitors 
daily  increased,  and  the  kingdom  of  Spain 
literally  groaned  under  their  oppressive  yoke. 
Philip  III.  who  succeeded  his  father  in  1598, 
was  no  less  bigoted  and  superstitious.  Hav- 
ing assembled  the  Cortes  of  the  kingdom  at 
Madrid,  in  1607,  the  members  of  that  assem- 
bly represented  to  their  new  sovereign,  that 
in  1579  and  1586,  they  had  required  a  re- 
form of  the  abuses  committed  in  the  tribunal 
of  the  Inquisition,  to  put  an  end  to  the  right 
which  the  Inquisitors  had  usurped,  of  taking 
cognizance  of  crimes  not  relating  to  heresy ; 
that  Philip  II.  had  promised  to  do  this,  but 
died  before  he  could  perform  it,  and  that 
in  consequence  they  renewed  the  request. 
Philip  replied,  that  he  would  take  proper 
measures  to  satisfy  the  Cortes.  In  1611,  when 
he  convoked  the  new  Cortes,  they  made  the 
same  request,  and  received  the  same  answer  ; 
but  nothing  was  attempted,  and  the  Inquisi- 


106  HISTORY    OP 

tors  became  daily  more  insolent,  md  filled 
their  prisons  with  victims. 

Philip  IV.  was  equally  averse  to  any  re- 
form in  the  court  of  Inquisition  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  even  permitted  the  Inquisitors  to 
take  cognizance  of  the  offence  of  exporting 
copper  money,  and  to  dispose  of  a  fourth  of 
what  fell  into  their  hands.  During  the  reign 
of  this  monarch,  and  that  of  Charles  II.  nu- 
merous autos-da-fe  were  annually  celebrated 
throughout  Spain  ;  and  many  were  the  vic- 
tims which  were  sacrificed  to  Inquisitorial 
cruelty  in  that  blinded  country,  who,  though 
« tried  by  fire,"  were  found  steadfast  defend- 
ers of  the  truth,  and  eminent  witnesses  against 
the  idolatries  of  Popery,  and  against  that  bar- 
barous tribunal  which  for  so  many  ages  has 
shed  the  blood  of  the  saints.* 


*  "The  Inquisition,"  says  Salgado,  "  is  subject  to  no 
other  laws,  but  arbitrarily  racks  souls,  and  murders  bo- 
dies, of  which  there  are  clouds  of  witnesses,  —  men 
condemned,  because  the  Inquisition  would  be  cruel. 
What  blasphemy  in  this  tribunal  ever  to  pretend  to  be 
actuated  by  a  divine  impulse,  where  every  brick  seems 
a  conjuring  spell,  and  every  officer  a  tormenting  fiend ; 
for  suppose  a  Jew,  a  Mahometan,  or  a  Christian,  in 
their  hands,  what  do  they  pretend  to  do  with  such  an 
onel  Would  they  chastise  him?  What  need  have 
they  then  of  so  many  officers  1  Why  such  scanda- 
lous methods,  as  a  secret  chamber,  an  unseen  tribu- 
nal, invisible  witnesses,  a  perfidious  secretary,  and 
merciless  servants,~confiscation  of  goods  through  fraud 
and  guile,  keepers  as  hard  hearted  as  the  relentless 
walls,  the  fiscal  mutes,  the  shameful  sanbenitos,  un- 
righteous racks,  a  th'^atre  filled  \^  Uh  horror  to  astonish 


THE    INQUISITION.  107 

On  the  death  of  Charles  II.  in  1700,  and 
the  accession  of  his  uncle  Philip  V.,  a  kind 
of  civil  war  broke  out  in  Spain,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  pretensions  of  the  Archduke 
Charles  of  Austria.  Among  the  troops  em- 
ployed by  Philip,  were  about  fourteen  thou- 
sand auxiliaries  provided  by  the  King  of 
France.  This  force  was  sent  into  Arragon, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  had  declared  for 
Charles.  The  people  were  soon  overawed  ; 
and  in  their  victorious  career,  the  French  came 
into  possession  of  the  city  of  Saragossa,  in 
which  there  was  a  mimber  of  convents,  and 
in  particular  one  belonging  to  the  Domini- 
cans. M.  de  Legal,  the  French  commander, 
found  it  necessary  to  levy  a  pretty  heavy  con- 
tribution, on  the  inhabitants,  not  excepting  the 
convents.  The  Dominicans,  all  the  friars  of 
which  were  familiars  of  the  Inquisition,  ex- 
cused themselves  in  a  civil  manner,  saying  that 
they  had  no  money,  and  that  if  M.  Legal  in- 
sisted upon  the  demand  of  their  part  of  the 
contribution,  they  could  not  pay  him  in  any 
other  way,  than  by  sending  him  the  silver 
images   of  the   saints.     These   crafty   friars 

the  prisoner,  a  hypocritical  sentence,  a  disguised  exe- 
cutioner, and  a  peremptory  judgment  1  In  all  the  times 
of  Paganism,  no  such  Roman  tribitnal  was  ever  erect- 
ed. In  their  amphitheatres,  men  had  not  quite  put  off 
humanity;  those  condemned  to  die  were  exposed  to 
wild  beasts  to  be  torn  to  pieces,  they  knew  their  execu- 
tioner; but  here  the  condemned  are  tormented  by  dis- 
guised ones  ;— men  they  should  be  by  their  shape,  but 
devils  by  their  fier  '.eness  and  cruelty." 


108  HISTORY    OP 

imagined  that  the  French  commander  would 
not  presume  to  insist  upon  such  a  sacrifice, 
or  if  he  did,  that  they  would,  by  raising  the 
cry  of  heresy  against  him,  expose  him  to  the 
vengeance  of  a  blind  and  superstitious  people. 
But"  M.  Legal  was  indifferent  alike  to  the 
destruction  of  the  images,  and  to  the  rage 
both  of  the  priests  and  people.  He  therefore 
informed  the  Dominicans,  that  the  silver 
saints  would  answer  his  purpose  equally  the 
same  as  money.  Perceiving  the  dilemma  in 
which  they  had  now  placed  themselves,  the 
friars  endeavoured  to  raise  a  mob,  by  carry- 
ing their  images  in  solemn  procession,  dressed 
in  black,  and  accompanied  by  lighted  can- 
dles. Aware  of  their  intention,  M.  Legal 
ordered  out  four  companies  of  soldiers  well 
armed,  to  receive  the  procession,  so  that 
the  design  of  raising  the  people  completely 
failed. 

M.  Legal  immediately  sent  the  images  to 
the  mint,  which  threw  the  friars  into  the 
greatest  consternation,  and  they  lost  no  time 
in  making  application  to  the  Inquisition,  to 
interpose  its  supreme  power  in  order  to  save 
their  idols  from  the  furnace.  With  this  re- 
quest the  Inquisitors  speedily  complied,  by 
framing  an  instrument,  excommunicating  M> 
Legal,  as  having  been  guilty  of  sacrilege. 
This  paper  was  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
secretary  of  the  holy  office,  who  was  ordered 
to  go  and  read  it  to  the  French  commander. 
Instead  of  expressing  either   displeasure  or 


rilE    INQUISITION.  109 

surprise,  M.  Legal  took  the  paper  from  the 
secretary  after  hearing  it  read,  and  mildly 
said,  "  Pray  tell  your  masters,  the  Inqui- 
sitors, that  I  will  answer  them  to-morrow 
morning." 

The  Frenchman  was  as  good  as  his  word. 
Having  caused  his  secretary  to  draw  out  a 
copy  of  the  excommunication,  with  the  sim- 
ple alteration  of  inserting  "  the  Holy  Inqui- 
sitors," instead  of  his  own  name,  he  ordered 
him  on  the  following  morning  to  repair  with 
it,  accompanied  by  four  regiments  of  soldiers, 
to  the  Inquisition,  and  having  read  it  to  the 
Inquisitors  themselves,  if  they  made  the  least 
noise,  to  turn  them  to  the  door,  open  all  the 
prisons,  and  quarter  two  regiments  in  the 
sacred  edifice.  These  orders  were  implicitly 
obeyed.  Amazed  and  confounded  to  hear 
themselves  excommunicated  by  a  man  who 
had  no  authority  for  it,  the  Inquisitors  began 
to  cry  out  against  Legal  as  a  heretic,  and  as 
having  publicly  insulted  the  Catholic  faith. 
«  Holy  Inquisitors,"  replied  the  secretary, 
« the  king  wants  this  house  to  quarter  his 
troops  in  ;  so  walk  out  immediately."  Hav- 
ing no  alternative,  the  holy  fathers  were 
compelled  to  obey.  The  doors  of  all  the  pri- 
sons were  thrown  open,  and  four  hundred 
prisoners  set  at  liberty.  Among  these  were 
sixty  young  women,  who  were  found  to  be 
the  private  property  of  the  three  Inquisitors, 
whom  they  had  unjustly  taken  from  their 
10 


no  HISTORY    OF 

fathers'  homes  in  the  city  and   neighbour 
hood  ! 

The  next  day  the  Inquisitors  complained 
to  Phihp  ;  but  that  monarch  calmly  replied, 
"  I  am  very  sorry  ;  but  I  cannot  htlp  it ;  my 
crown  is  in  danger,  and  my  grandfather  de- 
fends it,  and  this  is  done  by  his  troops.  If  it 
had  been  done  by  my  troops,  1  should  have 
applied  a  speedy  remedy  ;  but  you  must  have 
patience  till  things  take  another  turn."  They 
were  accordingly  obliged  to  exercise  that  pa- 
tience for  a  period  of  eight  months. 

The  archbishop,  however,  deeply  con- 
cerned for  the  honour  of  the  holy  tribunal, 
requested  M.  Legal  to  send  the  women  to 
his  palace,  promising  that  he  would  take  care 
of  them,  and  threatening  with  excommuni- 
cation all  who  should  dare  to  defame,  by 
groundless  reports,  the  tribunal  of  the  Inqui- 
sition. M.  Legal  professed  his  willingness 
to  comply  with  this  request ;  but  as  to  the 
young  women,  he  informed  his  grace,  that 
they  had  already  been  taken  away  by  the 
French  officers.  This  afiair,  which  is  related 
by  Gavin,  and  other  writers,  shows  at  once 
the  detestable  nature  of  a  tribunal  where 
deeds  of  darkness,  "  of  which  it  is  a  shame 
even  to  speak,"  were  so  unblushingly  com- 
mitted. For  these  young  women  "  were 
chiefly  ladies,  beautiful  and  accomplished, 
who  had  been  forcibly  carried  away,  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  Inquisitors,  from  the  most 
opulent  families  i  i  the  city,  to  enrich  their 


THE    INQUISITION.  Ill 

seraglio,  and  who  probably  would  never  iiave 
been  seen  without  the  walls  of  the  lioly  oilice, 
but  for  such  a  deliverance  as  that  whicli  vvas 
effected  by  the  French  soldiers." 

Philip  was  not  so  devoted  to  the  court  of 
tlie  Inquisition  as  his  predecessors  had  been. 
In  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  a  solemn  auto- 
da-fe  was  celebrated  in  honour  of  his  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  ;  but  though  Philip  declared 
it  to  be  his  intention  to  protect  the  tribunal 
of  the  holy  office,  yet  he  decidedly  refused  to 
be  present  at  a  scene  so  barbarous.  During 
the  reign  of  this  monarch,  however,  which 
lasted  forty-six  years,  one  auto-da-fe  was 
annually  celebrated  by  every  Inquisition 
througliout  the  kingdom,  at  which,  it  has 
been  calculated,  upwards  of  fourteen  thou- 
sand individuals  suffered,  who  had  been  con- 
demned by  the  holy  tribunal  to  different 
punishments.  It  was  in  the  reign  of  Philip, 
too,  that  the  freemasons  became  the  objects 
of  persecution  by  the  Inquisition.  Pope 
Clement  XII.  had  excommunicated  them  in 
a  bull  which  he  issued  in  1738;  and,  copy- 
ing the  example  of  his  holiness,  Philip  in 
1740  enacted  several  severe  la\^s  against  all 
who  were,  or  should  be  connected  with  that 
order  ;  in  consequence  of  which  many  of  the 
fraternity  were  arrested  and  condemned  to 
the  galleys.  Never  behind  in  any  species  of 
cruelty  or  oppression,  the  In  ^uisitors  appre- 
hended every  freemason  upon  whom  they 
could  lay  their  hands ;  and  in  a  short  time 


112  HISTORY    OP 

they  seemed  to  be  more  intent  upon  their 
suppression  than  even  upon  that  of  heretics. 
The  same  rigour  against  freemasonry  ex- 
isted under  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  VI., 
which  lasted  from  1746  to  1759.  Yet  during 
these  years,  no  general  auto-da-fe,  and  only 
thirty-four  private  ones,  were  celebrated  in 
Spain.  At  these  private  acts  of  faith,  one 
hundred  and  eighty  individuals  were  punish- 
ed, ten  of  whom  only  were  burnt  alive. 
Historians  differ  in  opinion  as  to  the  cause 
of  this  decrease  in  the  number  of  autos-da- 
fe  at  that  period  in  Spain,  and  the  conse- 
quent diminution  of  the  victims  who  were 
sacrificed  by  the  tribunal  of  the  holy  office. 
The  following  account,  given  by  Llorente, 
who  was  secretary  to  the  Inquisition,  seems 
to  be  the  most  probable :  "  The  rise  of  good 
taste  in  literature  in  Spain,"  says  that  au- 
thor, "  the  restoration  of  which  was  prepared 
under  Philip  V.  was  dated  from  the  reign  of 
Ferdinand  VI.  On  this  circumstance  is  found- 
ed the  opinion,  that  the  accession  of  the 
Bourbons  caused  a  change  in  the  system  of 
the  Inquisition  ;  yet  these  princes  never  gave 
any  new  laws  to  the  Inquisition,  or  sup- 
pressed any  of  the  ancient  code,  and  conse- 
quently did  not  prevent  any  of  the  numerous 
autos-da-fe  which  were  celebrated  in  their 
reigns.  But  Phihp  established  at  Madrid 
two  royal  academies,  for  history  and  the 
Spanish  language,  on  the  model  of  that  of 
Paris,  and   favouied   a  friendly  intercourse 


THE    INQU  SITION.  13 

between  the  literati  of  tli-^  two  iiatic  lis.  I'lie 
establisliment  of  weekly  papers  made  the 
people  acquainted  with  works  they  had  ne- 
ver before  heard  of,  and  informed  them  of 
resolutions  of  the  Catholic  princes  concerning 
the  clergy,  which  a  short  time  before  they 
would  have  considered  as  an  outrage  against 
religion  and  its  ministers.  These  circum- 
stances, and  some  other  causes,  during  the 
reign  of  Philip  V.,  prepared  the  way  for  the 
interesting  revolution  in  Spanish  literature, 
under  Ferdinand  VI.  This  change  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  great  benefit  to  mankind ;  the 
Inquisitors,  and  even  their  inferior  officers, 
began  to  perceive  that  zeal  for  the  purity  of 
the  Catholic  religion  is  exposed  to  the  admis- 
sion of  erroneous  opinions." 

The  Inquisition  remained  in  nearly  a  simi- 
lar condition,  during  the  reigns  of  Charles 
III.  and  Charles  IV.,  the  former  supporting 
it  because  he  hated  freemasons,  and  the  lat- 
ter "  because  the  French  revolution  seemed 
to  justify  a  system  of  surveillance,  and  he 
found  a  firm  support  in  the  zeal  of  the  In- 
quisitors-general, always  attentive  to  the  pre- 
servation and  extension  of  their  power,  as  if 
the  sovereign  authority  could  find  no  surer 
means  of  strengthening  the  throne  than  the 
terror  inspired  by  the  Inquisition." 

A  great  number  of  the  works  which  were 
published  in  France,  at  the  period  of  the  re- 
volution in  that  country,  having  been  con- 
veyed  to   Spain,  and  eagerly  read   by  the 
10* 


1  14  HISTORY    OP 

people,  the  Inquisitors  lost  no  time  in  pro- 
hibiting and  seizing  all  books,  pamphlets, 
and  newspapers  relating  to  French  affairs, 
and  gave  peremptory  orders  to  every  person 
to  denounce  all  who  were  friendly  to  the 
revolutionary  principles.  The  consequence 
was,  that  informations  were  lodged  against 
vast  numbers,  who  were  immediately  appre- 
hended, and  thrown  into  prison.  Among 
others,  two  booksellers  in  Valladolid  were 
condemned  in  1799  to  two  months' imprison- 
ment, two  years'  suspension  of  their  trade, 
and  to  banishment  from  the  kingdom. 

The  invasion  of  Spain  by  Bonaparte  in 
1808,  and  abdication  of  the  throne  by  Charles 
IV.  in  favour  of  his  son  Ferdinand  VII., 
gave  a  tremendous  blow  to  the  Inquisition. 
In  that  year  Napoleon  Bonaparte  suppressed 
the  holy  office  at  Chamastin  near  Madrid; 
and,  with  the  approbation  of  Joseph  Bona- 
parte, Llorente  burnt  all  the  criminal  pro- 
cesses in  the  Inquisition,  excepting  those 
which  belonged  to  history. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1813,  the  Cortes- 
general  of  the  kingdom  assembled  at  Madrid, 
and  having  decreed  that  the  existence  of  the 
Inquisition  was  incompatible  with  the  politi- 
cal constitution  which  had  been  adopted  by 
the  nation,  that  assembly  fully  suppressed 
that  odious  tribunal,  and  restored  to  the 
bishops  and  secular  judges,  the  jurisdiction 
which  thev  had  anciently  enjoyed. 

"Thus  eided  the  existence  of  a  tribunal," 


THE    INQUISITION.  115 

to  use  the  words  of  the  translator  of  Puig- 
blancli,  "  which  in  Spain  had  lorded  it  over 
the  people  for  more  than  three  hundred  and 
twenty  years,  had  been  an  outrage  to  hu- 
manity, and  a  powerful  engine  of  internal 
police  in  the  hands  of  despots.  Thus  perish- 
ed a  tremendous  and  inconsistent  power, 
which  even  in  Rome  no  longer  held  sway ; 
and  though  the  triumph  was  unfortunately 
short,  the  daring  and  enlightened  measure  of 
the  Cortes  will  ever  remain  on  record  as  part 
of  that  great  attempt  to  rally  round  the 
sacred  standard  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
as  far  as  was  possible  in  a  country  so  be- 
nighted as  that  over  which  they  presided ; 
and,  as  a  meritorious  act,  the  destruction  of 
the  Inquisition  thence  entitles  them  to  the 
respect  of  their  contemporaries,  and  the  gra- 
titude of  posterity." 

But,  alas !  notwithstanding  the  abolition 
of  this  most  detestable  tribunal,  and  the 
praiseworthy  efforts  of  many  Spanish  pa- 
triots to  prevent  its  ever  again  disgracing 
their  country,  it  is  most  distressing  to  b€ 
compelled  to  add,  that  it  was  soon  after 
wards  re-established  by  Ferdinand  VII.  No 
sooner  did  that  monarch  find  himself  again 
in  possession  of  the  throne,  for  his  restora- 
tion to  which  he  was  indebted  to  the  valour 
of  the  British  nation,  than  he  annulled  the 
acts  of  the  Cortes,  and  re-eSablished  the  In- 
quisition in    ts  full  powers.     The  fo'lowing 


116  HISTORIC     OF 

are  the  terms  of  the  edict,  which  set  up  anew 
this  unjust  court. 

"  The  past  tumults,  and  the  war,  which 
have  desolated  ail  tiie  provinces  of  the  king- 
dom for  the  space  of  six  years — the  residence 
therein  during  this  period  of  foreign  troops 
consisting  of  many  sects,  ahiiost  all  infected 
with  abhorrence  and  hatred  of  the  Catholic 
religion,  and  the  disorders  these  evils  always 
bring  with  them,  together  with  the  little  care 
latterly  taken  to  regulate  reUgious  concerns 
are  circumstances  which  have  afforded  wick- 
ed persons  full  scope  to  live  according  to 
their  free  will,  and  also  given  rise  to  the  in- 
troduction and  adoption  of  many  pernicious 
opinions,  through  the  same  means  by  which 
they  have  been  propagated  in  other  coun- 
tries," viz.  the  press :  '^  Wherefore  I  have 
resolved  that  the  council  of  the  Inquisition, 
together  with  the  other  tribunals  of  the  holy 
office,  shall  be  restored,  and  for  the  present 
continue  in  the  exercise  of  their  jurisdiction, 
as  well  ecclesiastical — a  power  granted  them 
by  the  popes  at  the  request  of  my  august 
predecessors,  united  with  that  vested  in  local 
prelates  by  virtue  of  their  ministry — as  also 
royal,  conferred  upon  them  by  successive 
monarchs ;  the  said  tribunals,  in  the  use  of 
both  jurisdictions,  complying  with  the  statutes 
by  which  they  were  governed  in  1808,  as 
well  as  the  laws  and  regulations  it  had  been 
deemed  expedient  to  enact  at  various  times, 


THE    INQUISITION.  117 

ill  order  to  prevent  certain  abuses."  Dated 
Madrid,  July  21,  1814. 

No  sooner  accordingly  were  the  Inquisitors 
re-invested  with  power,  than  they  began  to 
display  a  similar  spirit  to  that  of  their  perse- 
cuting predecessors.  On  the  12th  of  February, 
1815,  they  issued  the  following  injunction 
to  all  confessors  throughout  European  and 
American  Spain. 

"  1st,  Each  one  is  with  the  greatest  efficacy 
to  persuade  the  penitent  to  accuse  himself 
before  the  said  confessor,  of  all  the  errors  or 
heresies  into  which  he  may  have  fallen,  with- 
out promising  him  the  benefit  of  absolution 
in  any  other  form,  assuring  him  of  the  in- 
violable secrecy  he  will  keep,  and  which  is 
kept  in  the  holy  office,  and  that  the  smallest 
injury  shall  not  thence  result  to  him ;  rather 
that  this  measure  will  serve  as  a  means  to 
prevent  his  being  punished,  in  case  he  should 
be  accused  by  any  other  person  of  the  errors 
and  heresies  which  it  behoves  him  to  mani- 
fest, and  to  which  he  otherwise  stands  liable. 

"  2dly,  In  case  he  should  consent,  the  con- 
fessor shall  take  down  his  declaration  under 
oath  to  speak  the  truth,  and  the  act  shall  bear 
the  following  heading  :  ^  In  the  town  of  N.,  on 
such  a  day,  month,  and  year,  spontaneously 
appeared  before  me  the  undersigned  confes- 
sor   (expressing  his  name,  country,  and 

profession.')  The  document  shall  then  re- 
late, in  the  most  specific  manner,  all  his  er- 
r(  rs  and  the  r  accompanying  circumstances, 


118  HISTORT    OF 

the  time  and  place  in  which  he  njay  have 
committed  them,  seen,  or  heard  them  com- 
mitted ;  and  if  any  persons  were  present, 
they  are  to  be  named,  and  he  is  also  to  spe- 
cify of  them  all  he  knows.  He  is  then  to 
sign  his  declaration,  if  he  knows  how  ;  and, 
if  not,  he  is  to  make  a  cross,  but  the  confessor 
is  always  to  sign  it. 

«  3dly,  He  (the  confessor)  shall  cause  him 
to  abjure  his  heresy,  and  absolve  him  by 
reconciling  him  to  the  church;  he  shall 
moreover  enjoin  him  secretly  to  confess  all 
his  errors,  and  impose  on  him  such  penance 
as  he  may  deem  fit ;  which  being  done,  the 
whole  is  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Holy  Office. 

"Finally,  if  the  most  efficacious  persua- 
sions have  not  been  able  to  prevail  on  the 
penitent,  in  case  he  should  evince  due  signs 
of  repentance  and  detestation  of  his  offences, 
the  confessor  shall  absolve  him  from  excom- 
munication in  the  internal  form  only,"  (that 
is,  not  exempt  him  from  the  future  prosecu- 
tions of  the  Inquisition,)  "  explaining  this  to 
him  for  his  government  and  information.  As 
soon  as  the  statement  of  all  this  has  been 
drawn  up  by  the  confessor,  he  is  also  to  for- 
ward it  to  the  Holy  Office." 

On  the  5th  of  April,  Don  Francisco  Xavier 
de  Mier  y  Campillo,  the  Inquisitor-general, 
published  an  edict,  offering  a  term  of  grace 
to  those  who  had  fallen  into  the  crime  of 
heresy,  provided  they  denounced  themselves 
before  the  end  of  the  year;  and  declaring 


THE    INQUISITION.  119 

that  "Spain  was  infected  by  the  new  and 
dangerous  doctrines  which  had  ruined  the 
greatest  part  of  Europe."  And  on  the 
22d  of  July  following,  the  Inquisitors  issued 
an  order  for  the  suppression  of  almost 
every  work  which  had  been  published  in 
Spain  during  the  revolution,  subjecting  every 
reader  and  retainer  of  any  of  the  pro- 
scribed books  to  the  most  grievous  punish- 
ments. 

Thus,  although  both  the  king  and  the  In- 
quisitors pretended  that  reformations  had 
taken  place  in  the  holy  tribunal,  and  the  lat- 
ter in  particular  boasted  of  the  "sweetness 
and  charity  which  are  now  used  in  the  ec- 
clesiastical procedure,"  yet  it  is  evident  that 
the  re-established  Inquisition  differs  little  or 
nothing  from  that  which  was  suppressed.  It 
does  not  appear  that  a  single  public  auto-da- 
fe  lias  been  celebrated  since  that  period,*  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  scene  so  barbarous 
will  never  again  be  exhibited  in  Spain ;  yet, 

*  "  I  myself,"  says  the  Rev.  Joseph  Blanco  White, 
"  saw  the  pile  on  which  the  last  victim  was  sacrificed 
to  Roman  infallibility.  It  was  an  unhappy  woman 
whom  the  Inquisition  of  Seville  committed  to  the 
flames,  under  the  charge  of  heresy,  about  forty  years 
ago,  (this  was  written  in  1825.)  She  perished  on  a 
spot  where  thousands  had  met  the  same  fate.  I  lament 
from  my  heart,  that  the  structure  which  supported  their 
melting  limbs,  was  destroyed  during  the  late  convul- 
sions It  should  have  been  preserved,  with  the  infalli- 
ble ard  immutable  canon  of  the  Council  of  Trent  ovef 
it,  foi  the  detestation  of  future  ages." 


120  HISTORY    OF 

while  that  odious  tribunal  exists,  who  car 
be  safe  in  that  oppressed  and  degraded  coun- 
try ?  Its  secret  prisons,  and  its  various 
modes  of  torture  and  other  punishments,  still 
remain.  Spain,  therefore,  can  never  be  hap- 
py,  or  its  inhabitants  one  moment  secure, 
while  the  falsely  denominated  "  Holy  Office- ' 
continues  to  enjoy  the  smallest  footing  m 
that  kingdom. 

Nor  let  these  remarks  be  termed  the  effects 
of  prejudice.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  proved 
by  numerous  living  authors,  who  adduce 
facts,  the  best  of  all  evidence,  in  support  of 
their  statements,  that  the  procedure  of  the 
modern  Inquisition  is  equally  cruel  with  that 
of  the  ancient,  excepting  indeed  the  celebra- 
tion of  public  autos-da-fe.  Among  these 
none  give  a  more  ample  detail  of  the  present 
state  of  the  holy  tribunal,  than  Lieut.  Colonel 
Don  Juan  Van  Halen,  and  Llorente.  The 
former  of  these  writers  has  published  a  nar- 
rative of  his  imprisonment  in  the  dungeons 
of  the  Holy  Office  in  1817.  He  was  con- 
fined first  in  the  Inquisition  of  Murcia,  ana 
subsequently  in  that  of  Madrid,  for  the  active 
part  which  he  took  in  the  exertions  of  the 
liberales  to  deliver  their  country  from  ty- 
ranny, both  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  He  was 
arrested  at  Murcia,  on  the  21st  of  September, 
and  all  his  papers  were  seized,  among  which 
were  several  that  very  nearly  involved  many 
eminent  persons  in  the  same  persecution. 
Passing   over   the  sufierings   which   he   en- 


THE    INQTTISl  riOIV.  121 

dured  while  confined  in  the  Iiu  uisitiun  ot 
Murcia,  we  shall  give  here,  in  his  own 
words,  an  account  of  part  of  those  which 
were  inflicted  on  him  in  Madrid. 

"  About  eight  o'clock  at  night,  on  the  2Cth 
of  November,"  says  he,  "  Don  Juanita,  (one 
of  the  Inquisitors,)  entered  my  dungeon,  with 
a  lantern  in  his  hand,  followed  by  four  other 
men,  whose  faces  were  concealed  by  a  piece 
of  black  cloth,  shaped  above  the  head  like  a 
cowl,  and  falling  over  the  shoulders  and 
chest,  in  the  middle  of  which  were  two  holes 
for  the  eyes.  I  was  half  asleep  when  the 
noise  of  the  doors  opening  awoke  me,  and, 
by  the  dim  light  of  the  lantern,  I  perceived 
those  frightful  apparitions.  Imagining  I  was 
labouring  under  the  effects  of  a  dream,  I  ear- 
nestly gazed  awhile  on  the  group,  till  one  of 
them  approached,  and,  pulling  me  by  the 
leather  strap  with  which  my  arms  were 
bound,  gave  me  to  understand  by  signs  that 
I  was  to  rise.  Having  obeyed  his  summons, 
my  face  was  covered  with  a  leather  mask, 
and  in  this  manner  I  was  led  out  of  the 
prison.  After  walking  through  various  pas- 
sages on  a  level  with  that  of  my  dungeon,  we 
entered  a  room,  where  I  heard  Zorilla  (the 
other  Inquisitor)  order  my  attendants  to  untie 
the  strap. 

"^Listen,  with   great   attention,'  he  then 

exclaimed,  addressing  me,  'since  you  have 

hitherto  been  deaf  to  the  advice  which  this 

holy  tribunal  has  repeatedly  given  you  in 

II 


122  HISTORY    OF 

their  spirit  of  peace,  humanity,  and  reUgioas 
charity.  Propagator  of  secret  and  impious 
societies,  estabUshed  by  the  heresies  of  their 
members  to  destroy  our  holy  rehgion  and  the 
august  throne  of  our  CathoUc  sovereign,  you 
have  maintained,  for  the  space. of  a  year,  an 
uninterrupted  correspondence  with  more  than 

two  hundred  sectarians This  holy  tribunal 

has  at  last  recourse  to  rigour.  It  will  extort 
from  you  the  truths,  which  neither  the  duty 
of  a  religious  oath,  demanded  without  vio- 
lence, nor  the  mild  admonitions  which  ha\e 
been  so  often  resorted  to,  in  order  to  induce 
you  to  make  the  desired  declarations,  have 
been  able  to  obtain.  This  evident  pertinacity 
obliges  us  to  use  a  salutary  severity.  We 
judge  the  cause  of  our  Divine  Redeemer  and 
of  our  Catholic  king,  and  we  shall  know  to 
fulfil  the  high  ministry  with  which  the  su- 
preme spiritual  and  temporal  authority  has 
invested  us.  The  most  rigorous  torments  will 
be  employed  to  obtain  from  you  these  truths, 
Dr  you  shall  expire  in  the  midst  of  them.  All 
the  charges  I  have  just  mentioned  in  a  sum- 
mary manner  must  be  amply  explained, — 
yes  !  amply  explained  !  justice,  God,  and  the 
king  require  that  it  should  be  so.  This  holy 
tribunal  will  fulfil  their  duties — yes  !' 

"  The  agitation  of  the  moment  permitted 
me  to  utter  only  a  few  words,  which,  how- 
ever, were  not  listened  to,  and  I  was  hurried 
away  to  the  further  end  of  the  room,  the 
jailei   aud   his  assistants  exerting   all   their 


THE    INCiUISITlON.  123 

Strength  to»  secure  me.  Having  succeeded  in 
raising  me  from  the  ground,  they  placed 
under  my  arm-pits  two  high  crutches,  from 
which  I  remained  suspended  ;  after  which 
my  right  arm  was  tied  to  the  corresponding 
crutch,  whilst  the  left  being  kept  in  a  hori- 
zontal position,  they  encased  my  hand  open 
in  a  wooden  glove  extending  to  the  wrist, 
which  shut  very  tightly,  and  from  which  two 
large  iron  bars  ran  as  far  as  the  shoulder; 
keeping  the  whole  in  the  same  position  in 
which  it  was  placed.  My  waist  and  legs 
were  similarly  bound  to  the  crutches  by 
which  I  was  supported ;  so  that  I  shortly  re- 
mained without  any  other  action  than  thai 
of  breathing,  though  with  difficulty. 

"  Having  remained  a  short  time  in  this 
painful  position,  that  unmerciful  tribunal  re- 
turned to  their  former  charges.  Zorrilla, 
with  a  tremulous  voice  that  seemed  to  evince 
his  thirst  for  blood  and  vengeance,  repeated 
the  first  of  those  he  had  just  read,  namely, 
whether  I  did  not  belong  to  a  society  whose 
object  was  to  overthrow  our  holy  religion, 
and  the  august  throne  of  our  Catholic  sove- 
reign ?  I  replied  that  it  was  impossible  I 
should  plead  guilty  to  an  accusation  of 
that  nature.  '  Without  any  subterfuge,  say 
whether  it  is  so,'  he  added,  in  an  i.ngry  tone. 

" '  It  is  not,  sir,'  I  replied.  The  glove 
which  guided  my  arm,  and  which  seemed  to 
be  resting  on  the  edge  of  a  wheel,  began 
now  to  turn,  and,  with  its  movements,  1  fen 


124  HISTORY    OF 

b}'  degrees  an  acute  pain,  especially  from  the 
eloow  to  the  shoulder,  a  general  conv^ulsion 
throughout  my  frame,  and  a  cold  sweat  over- 
spreading my  face.  The  interrogatory  con- 
tinued, but  Zorrilla's  question  of  <  Is  it  so  ?  is 
it  so  ?'  were  the  only  words  that  struck  my 
ear  amidst  the  excruciating  pain  I  endured, 
which  became  so  intense  that  I  fainted  away, 
and  heard  no  more  the  voices  of  those  can- 
nibals. 

"  When  I  recovered  my  senses,  I  found 
myself  stretched  on  the  floor  of  my  dungeon, 
my  hands  and  feet  secured  with  heavy  fetters 
and  manacles,  fastened  by  a  thick  chain,  the 
nails  of  which  my  tormentors  were  still  rivet- 
ing !  Left  by  those  wretches  stretched  in 
the  same  place,  I  could  have  wished  that  the 
doors,  which  closed  after  them,  should  never 
again  open.  Eternal  sleep  was  all  I  desired, 
and  all  I  asked  of  Heaven.  It  was  after 
much  difficulty  that  I  dragged  myself  to  my 
bed.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  noise  of  my 
chains  would  awaken  the  vigilance  of  my 
jailers,  whose  presence  was  to  me  the  most 
fatal  of  my  torments.  I  spent  the  whole  of 
the  night  strugghng  with  the  intense  pains 
which  were  the  effects  of  the  torture,  and 
with  the  workings  of  my  excited  mind,  which 
offered  but  a  horrible  perspective  to  my  com- 
plicated misfortunes.  This  state  of  mental 
agitation,  and  the  burning  fever  which  was 
every  moment  increasing,  soon  threw  me  into 
a  d^'irium,  du*'ng  which  I  scarcely  noticed 


THE    INQUIMTION.  /g.*) 

the  operation  performed  by  my  jailers,  of 
opening  the  seams  of  my  coat  to  examine  tlie 
state  of  my  arm." 

Having  undergone  innumerable  sufferings, 
his  enemies  being  bent  on  his  destruction, 
Van  Halen  at  length  succeeded,  on  the  30th 
of  January,  1818,  in  making  his  escape  from 
the  prisons  of  the  Inquisition ;  upon  which 
he  repaired  successively  to  France,  England, 
and  Russia,  returning  to  Spain  in  1821. 

Llorente  again,  records  the  following  fact, 
which  he  says  was  given  by  one  who  was 
present  when  the  Inquisition  was  thrown 
open  in  1820,  by  orders  of  the  Cortes  of 
Madrid.  Twenty-one  prisoners  were  found 
in  it,  not  one  of  whom  knew  the  name  of 
the  city  in  which  he  was;  some  had  been 
confined  three  years,  some  a  longer  period, 
and  not  one  knew  perfectly  the  nature  of  the 
crime  of  which  he  was  accused.  One  of 
these  prisoners  had  been  condemned,  and  was 
to  have  suffered  on  the  following  day.  His 
punishment  was  to  be  death  by  the  pendu- 
lum. The  method  of  thus  destroying  the 
victim  is  as  follows: — The  condemned  is 
fastened  in  a  groove  upon  a  table,  on  his 
back ;  suspended  above  him  is  a  pendulum, 
the  edge  of  which  is  sharp,  and  it  is  so  con- 
structed as  to  become  longer  with  every 
movement.  The  wretch  sees  this  implement 
of  destruction  swinging  to  and  fro  above 
him,  and  every  moment  the  keen  edge  ap- 
proaching nearer  and  nearer :  at  length  it  cuts 
II* 


126  HISTORY    OF 

the  skin  of  his  nose,  and  gradually  cuts  on, 
until  life  is  extinct.  It  may  be  doubted  if  the 
Holy  Office,  in  its  mercy,  ever  invented  a 
more  humane  and  rapid  method  of  extermi- 
nating heresy,  or  ensuring  confiscation  !  This, 
let  it  be  remembered,  was  a  punishment  of 
the  secret  tribunal,  A.  D.,  1820  !  ! 

How,  indeed,  is  it  possible  that  any  ame- 
lioration can  have  taken  place  in  the  Inqui- 
sition, that  great  bulwark  of  Rome,  when 
Popery,  and  the  measures  of  the  Holy  See, 
continue  unaltered?  Though  not  bearing 
directly  on  the  point  in  hand,  yet  illustrative 
of  the  hatred  which  the  Romish  Church 
bears  to  Protestants  and  to  their  works,  and 
of  her  determination  still  to  persecute  when 
in  her  power  all  who  dare  to  call  in  question 
any  of  her  dogmas,  the  following  extracts 
from  a  speech  delivered  before  the  British 
Parliament,  in  May,  1825,  by  Sir  Robert  H. 
Inglis,  are  submitted  to  the  reader ; — "  I  will 
tell  you,"  said  the  Honourable  Baronet, "  not 
what  the  literature  of  the  Church  of  Rome  is, 
but  what  it  is  not.  Her  tyranny  over  litera- 
ture, her  proscription  at  this  day  of  all  the 
great  masters  of  the  human  mind,  can  be 
paralleled  only  by  the  tyranny  and  the  pro- 
scription which  she  exercised  five  centuries 
ago  over  the  minds  and  bodies  alike.  The 
volume  which  I  hold  in  my  hand— the  Index 
Librorum  Prohibitorum — contains  a  list  of 
the  books  which  are  at  this  time  proscribed 
in    ne  Church  of  Rome  under  the  penalties 


THE    INQUISITION.  127 

of  the  Inquisition.  It  was  printed  at  Rome, 
by  authority,  in  1S19,  and  I  bought  it  there 
in  1821.*  The  first  book  in  this  great  cata- 
logue of  works,  which  are  taken  fronn  the 
faiiliful  every  where,  and  are  given  up  to  the 
Inquisition,  is  « Bacon  de  Augmentis  Scicjn- 
tiarum.'  <  Locke  on  the  Hunian  Under- 
standing,' and  « Cudworth's  Intellectual  Sys- 
tem,' follow  in  the  train.  Many  other 
English  works  are  proscribed.  One  only 
I  will  niBiition,  the  « Paradise  Lost'  of  Mil- 
ton. The  reading  of  the  work  was  inter- 
dicted, indeed,  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago ; 
but  the  prohibition  was  renewed  in  1819.  Is 
not  this  enough  to  prove  that  the  character 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  is  not  so  open  to  a 
beneficial  change  as  some  of  my  honourable 
friends  are  wiUing  to  hope  and  believe  it  to 
be  ?  I  pass  over  large  classes  of  books,  the 
very  possession  of  which  is  forbidden,  but  I 
must  notice  the  impartial  prohibition  of 
science.  Will  the  House  believe  it  possible, 
that  the  celebrated  sentence,  in  1633,  against 
Galileo — a  sentence  immortalized  by  the  exe- 
cration of  science  in  every  country  where  the 
mind  is  free — should  be  renewed  and  pub- 
lished in  1819?  Yet  of  this  fact  I  hold  the 
proof  in  my  hand,  in  the  volume  of  the  '  In- 
dex,' which  I  have  already  quoted.  The 
work  of  Algarotti,  on  the  Newtonian  system, 
shares  the  same  fate :  so  that  every  modifica- 

[*  A  copy  of  this  work  is  to  be  found  in  .he  Frank 
l.n  '^iibrary  in  Philadelphia.] 


128  HISTORY    OF 

tion  of  science — in  other  words,  every  effort 
of  free  inquiry — every  attempt  to  disengage 
the  mind  from  the  trammels  of  authority,  is 
alike  and  universally  consigned  to  the  Inqui- 
sition. Am  I  not  justified  in  saying  that  the 
Church  of  Rome  remains  unchanged,  the  un- 
changeable enemy  to  the  progress  of  the 
human  mind  ?  Every  other  institution  is 
advancing  with  sails  set,  and  banners  stream- 
ing, on  the  high,  yet  still  rising  tide  of  im- 
provement :  the  Church  of  Rome  alone  re- 
mains fixed  and  bound  to  the  bottom  of  tht 
stream,  by  a  chain  which  can  neither  be 
lengthened  nor  removed.'^ 


CHAPTER   VI. 

The  horrid  procedure  of  the  Inquisition  is  never  calcu- 
lated to  make  converts — the  punishments  inflicted  by 
it  encourage  hypocrisy — it  frequently  condemns  the 
innocent — the  Inquisitors  proved  to  be  actuated  by 
avarice  in  their  condemnation  of  prisoners — other 
offences  besides  heresy  taken  cognizance  of  by  the 
Holy  Office — its  flagrant  injustice — its  barbarous 
proceedings  against  the  dead. 

Having  given  a  historical  sketch  of  the 
"  Holy  Office,"  falsely  so  called,  more  par- 
ticularly as  it  exists  in  Spain,  we  shall  now 
select  several  instances,  in  addition  to  those 
which  have  been  already  noticed,  of  the  suf 
ferings  of  individuals,  who   have  unhappily 


THE     INQUISITION.  129 

fallen  into  the  luinds  of  the  Inquisitors,  those 
declared  enemies  of  humanity. 

Notwithstanding  all  tlie  etforts  of  the  In- 
quisitors to  force  their  prisoners  to  accuse 
themselves,  in  order  to  es^^ape  a  cruel  and 
ignominious  death,  multitudes  have  continu- 
ed steadfast  in  the  truth,  and  submitted  to  be 
"  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance,"  nay 
**  gave  their  bodies  to  be  burned,"  rather 
than,  by  a  cowardly  confession,  to  accuse 
themselves  unjustly,  and  wound  their  own 
consciences.  In  proof  of  this  we  select  the 
following  interesting  cases. 

In  the  auto-da-fe  which  was  celebrated  at 
Valladolid  in  1559,  Don  Carlos  de  Sessa,  a 
nobleman  of  Verona,  was  among  the  number 
of  those  who  were  burnt  for  having  espoused 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation.  He  was 
arrested  at  Logrogna,  and  confined  in  the 
secret  prisons  of  the  Inquisition  at  Vallado- 
lid. After  undergoing  the  usual  examina- 
tions, his  sentence  was  read  to  him  on  the 
7th  of  October,  by  which  he  was  informed 
that  he  was  to  suffer  death  on  the  following 
day.  Unmoved  by  the  tidings,  De  Sessa  re- 
quested pen  and  ink,  and  wrote  his  confes- 
sion, which  was  not  a  recantation  of  his 
faith,  but  a  firm  adherence  to  the  reformed 
principles.  In  these  principles,  —  the  very 
reverse  of  those  which  are  taught  by  the 
apostate  Church  of  Rome, — he  declared  that 
he  was  determined,  to  die,  and  would  give 
himself  to  God  through  the  merits  of  his  Re- 


130  HISTORY    OF 

deemer,  the  Ljrd  Jesus  Christ.  His  perse- 
cutors vehemently  exhorted  him  during  the 
night,  and  on  the  following  morning,  to  re- 
tract ;  but  without  success.  He  was  accord- 
ingly gagged,  that  he  might  be  prevented 
from  stating  his  principles  to  the  people. 
When  he  was  fastened  to  the  stake,  the  gag 
was  taken  from  his  mouth,  and  he  was  again 
exhorted  to  return  to  the  Romish  faith,  in 
which  case  the  Inquisitors  would  have  ex- 
tended their  mercy  so  far,  as  to  have  strangled 
him  first  before  he  was  burnt.  But  with  a  loud 
voice,  and  great  firmness,  De  Sessa  replied, 
''  If  I  had  sufficient  time,  I  would  convince 
you,  that  you  are  lost,  by  not  following  my 
example.  Hasten  to  light  the  wood,  which 
is  to  consume  me."  Fire  was  then  set  to  the 
pile,  and,  after  great  suffering,  his  body  was 
consumed  to  ashes. 

Dr.  Juan  Gonzalez,  who  suffered  at  Seville 
in  1559,  was  descended  of  Moorish  ancestors, 
and  at  twelve  years  of  age  had  been  impri- 
soned on  suspicion  of  Mahometanism.  He 
afterwards  became  one  of  the  most  celebrat- 
ed preachers  in  Andalusia,  and  a  protestant. 
In  the  midst  of  the  torture,  which  he  bore 
with  unshrinking  fortitude,  he  told  the  Inqui- 
sitors, that  his  sentiments,  though  opposite 
to  those  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  rested  on 
plain  and  express  declarations  of  the  word  of 
God,  and  that  nothing  would  induce  him  to 
inform  against  his  brethren.  When  brought 
out  on  the  morning  of  the  auto,  he  appeared 


THE    INQUISITION.  131 

With  a  cheerful  and  uudaiiiited  air,  though 
he  had  left  his  mother  and  two  brothers  be- 
hind him  in  prison,  and  was  accompanied  by 
two  sisters,  who,  like  himself,  were  doomed 
to  the  flames.  At  the  door  of  the  Triana  he 
began  to  sing  the  109th  Psalm,  and  on  the 
scaflbld  he  addressed  a  few  words  of  consola- 
tion to  one  of  his  sisters,  wlio  seemed  to  him 
to  wear  a  look  of  dejection,  upon  which  the 
gag  was  instantly  thrust  into  his  mouth. — 
With  unaltered  mien  he  listened  to  the  sen- 
tence adjudging  him  to  the  flames,  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  humiliating  ceremonies  by 
which  he  was  degraded  from  the  priest- 
hood. When  they  were  brought  to  the  place 
of  execution,  the  friars  urged  the  females,  in 
repeating  the  creed,  to  insert  the  word  Ro- 
man in  the  clause  relating  to  the  Catholic 
Church.  Wishing  to  procure  liberty  to  him 
to  bear  his  dying  testimony,  they  said  they 
would  do  as  their  brother  did.  The  gag  be- 
ing removed,  Juan  Gonzalez  exhorted  them 
to  add  nothing  to  the  good  confession  which 
they  had  already  made.  Instantly  the  execu- 
tioners were  ordered  to  strangle  them,  and 
one  of  the  friars  turning  to  the  crowd  ex- 
claimed, that  they  had  died  in  the  Roman 
faith, — a  falsehood  which  the  Inquisitors  did 
not  choose  to  repeat  in  their  narrative  of  the 
proceedings. 

The  case  of  Isaac  Orobio,  who  was  ac- 
cused of  Judaism  before  the  Inquisition  at 
Seville,  gives  another  striking  example  of 


132  HISTORY    OF 

firmness  amidst  tortures  the  most  excruciat- 
ing. It  would  be  exceedingly  painful  to 
recur  to  this  diabolical  practice — the  anguish 
which  Orobio  endured  during  the  torture  by 
the  rack,  the  pulley,  and  several  other  en- 
gines of  cruelty  equally  horrid,  being  such  as 
is  sufficient  to  freeze  the  very  blood  in  the 
veins.  It  is  enough  to  state,  that  one  tor- 
ment after  another,  all  of  them  the  most 
agonizing,  were  inflicted  on  him,  with  a 
view  to  make  him  confess:  but  all  to  no 
purpose.  He  was  accordingly  carried  back 
to  his  dungeon,  where  he  was  attended  by 
the  physician  of  the  Inquisition,  and  nearly 
three  months  elapsed  before  he  was  able  to 
walk  about  his  cell.  Having  made  no  con- 
fession while  undergoing  the  torture,  he  was 
condemned,  not  as  being  convicted,  but  as 
being  suspected  of  Judaism,  to  wear  the  in- 
famous sanbenito  for  two  years,  and  after- 
wards to  perpetual  banishment. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  examples  might 
be  produced  in  order  to  prove,  that  even 
although  the  terrors  of  torture  and  of  death 
may  lead  a  prisoner  to  confess — the  Inquisi- 
tion, far  from  eftectuig  any  change  of  senti- 
ment, is  suited  only  to  encourage  hypocrisy. 
One  of  these  was  exhibited  in  the  case  of 
Benanat,  a  clergyman,  in  Catalonia,  about 
the  year  1334.  Having  been  condemned  to 
the  flames  for  holding  sentiments  different 
from  those  of  the  Romish  creed,  he  was 
placed  on  the  pile,  and  the  faggots  kindled. 


THE    INQUISITION.  133 

But  when  one  of  his  sides  uas  scorched,  and 
the  pain  had  become  so  great  that  he  could 
not  endure  it,  he  cried  out  to  be  removed, 
for  he  was  ready  to  abjure.  He  was  accord- 
higly  taken  down,  and  on  abjuring,  was  re- 
conciled to  the  Church  ;  but  fourteen  years 
afterwards  it  was  discovered  that  he  had 
continued  to  adhere  to  his  former  opinions 
Imprisoned  a  second  time,  and  placed  on  the 
burning  pile,  he  died  persisting  in  his  heresy, 
as  most  probably  he  would  have  done  at  his 
former  condemnation,  if  the  first  sentence, 
Uke  the  second,  had  been  irrevocable. 

The  author  of  the  History  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion at  Goa,  the  Sieur  Dellon,  gives  us  other 
two  examples  which  occurred  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  the  first  in 
the  case  of  a  very  rich  new  Christian,  that  is, 
a  converted  Jew,  named  Lewis  Pezoa,  who, 
with  his  whole  family,  had,  by  some  of  his 
enemies,  been  accused  of  secret  Judaism. 
Himself,  his  wife,  two  sons,  and  one  daugh- 
ter, together  with  several  other  relatives  who 
resided  with  him,  were  accordingly  appre- 
hended and  confined  in  the  secret  prisons  of 
the  Inquisition  at  Coimbra.  Pezoa,  how- 
ever, not  only  denied,  but  completely  refuted 
the  crime  of  which  he  was  accused  ;  and  de- 
manded that  the  names  of  his  accusers  might 
be  given  him,  that  he  might  convict  them  of 
falsehood.  Yet  all  this  availed  him  nothing. 
He  was  condemned  to  be  delivered  over  to 
the  secular  power ;  and  intimation  of  this 
12 


134  HISTORY    OF 

sentence  was  delivered  to  him  fifteen  days 
before  it  was  pronounced.  The  Duke  de 
Cadoval,  who  was  very  intimate  with  the 
Inquisitor-general,  having  ascertained  the 
situation  in  which  Pezoa  was  placed,  and 
understanding  that,  unless  he  confessed  pre- 
vious to  his  appearing  at  the  auto-da-fe,  he 
could  not  escape  the  fire — remonstrated  in  so 
urgent  a  manner  with  the  Inquisitor,  that  he 
at  length  obtained  the  promise  that  the  sen- 
tence of  death  passed  upon  Pezoa  should  be 
commuted,  provided  he  confessed  either  be- 
fore or  at  the  place  of  execution.  The  Duke 
in  vain  exerted  all  his  ingenuity  to  prevail 
on  Pezoa  to  confess.  On  the  day  appointed 
for  the  auto-da-fe,  accordingly,  Pezoa  came 
forth,  wearing  the  sanbenito  and  coroza,  and 
proceeded  with  the  other  individuals  who 
were  condemned  to  the  place  of  execution. 
His  friends,  now  more  anxious  for  his  deli- 
verance than  ever,  besought  him  with  tears, 
in  the  name  of  the  Duke  de  Cadoval,  and  by 
all  that  was  dear  to  him,  to  preserve  his  hfe ; 
intimating,  that  if  he  would  confess,  the  Duke 
had  obtained  his  pardon  from  the  Inquisitor- 
general,  and  would  make  up  for  him  the  pro- 
perty which  had  been  confiscated.  All,  how 
ever,  still  proved  fruitless.  Pezoa  continued 
to  protest  his  innocence,  and  constantly  af- 
firmed that  the  crime  laid  to  his  charge  was 
a  falsehood,  invented  by  his  enemies,  who 
were  anxious  for  his  destruction.  At  the 
coHchision  of  t'.  ^  f  rocession,  the  sentences  of 


TlIK     INQUISITION.  135 

those  who  were  condemned  to  pcjrforrn  cer- 
tain penances  were  first  read  ;  but  previous 
to  the  ceremony  of  deUvering  the  relapsed  to 
tlie  secular  power,  the  friends  of  Pezoa  again 
entreated  him  with  so  much  importunity  and 
earnestness,  that  his  constancy  was  at  length 
overcome ;  when,  rising  up,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Come  then,  let  us  go  and  confess  the  crimes 
I  am  falsely  accused  of,  and  thereby  gratify 
the  desires  of  my  friends."  His  confession 
having  been  received,  he  was  remanded  to 
prison.  After  two  years  further  confinement, 
he  was  compelled  again  to  appear  at  a  pub- 
lic auto-da-fe,  and  sentenced  to  five  years 
additional  imprisonment,  to  banishment  to 
the  galleys  for  other  five  years,  and  confisca- 
tion of  his  property.  While  at  the  galleys, 
^e  learned  for  the  first  time  that  his  wife  and 
daughter  had  died  in  prison  shortly  after 
their  confinement ;  and  that  his  two  sons, 
Jess  firm  than  himself,  had  made  a  timely 
confession,  and  were  sentenced  to  banish 
ment  for  ten  years. 

The  other  case  noticed  by  the  same  writer, 
is  that  of  the  major  of  a  regiment,  who  was 
accused  of  Judaism,  by  persons  who  seemed 
to  have  no  other  means  of  saving  their  own 
lives  than  that  of  confessing  themselves  to  be 
guilty  of  the  same  crime,  and  naming  many 
innocent  persons  as  their  accomplices,  in  order 
to  discover  the  witnesses  who  had  deposed 
against  them.  On  his  apprehension,  the  poor 
officer  was  thrown  into  the  secret  prisons  of 


136  HISTORY    OF 

the  holy  ciTice,  and  often  examined  for  the 
purpose  of  drawing  from  his  own  Ups  an 
avowal  of  the  cause  of  his  imprisonment. 
Not  being  able,  however,  to  declare  what  he 
was  ignorant  of,  he  was  informed,  at  the  end 
of  two  years,  that  he  was  accused  and  con- 
victed in  due  form  of  being  an  apostate  Jew. 
This  he  positively  declared  to  be  false,  so- 
lemnly protesting  that  he  had  never  deviated 
from  the  Christian  faith.  Every  effort  was 
now  made  by  the  Inquisitors  to  lead  him  to 
confess.  Not  only  his  life,  but  the  restora- 
tion of  his  property,  was  promised  ;  but  all 
to  no  purpose.  It  was  then  attempted  to  in- 
timidate him,  by  threatening  him  with  a  cruel 
death.  Nothing,  however,  could  shake  his 
resolution;  and  he  boldly  told  the  judges  that 
he  would  rather  die  innocent,  than  save  his 
life  by  a  meanness  which  would  bring  on 
him  everlasting  infamy.  The  Duke  d'Aveira, 
who  was  then  Inquisitor-general,  was  very 
desirous  of  saving  the  major's  life.  He  ac- 
cordingly one  day  privately  paid  him  a  visit, 
and  urgently  entreated  him  to  seize  the  oppor- 
tunity which  he  enjoyed  of  avoiding  punish- 
ment, by  making  confession.  The  major,  how- 
ever, displayed  a  determined  resolution  not 
to  wound  his  conscience,  or  injure  his  reputa- 
tion, by  acknowledging  crimes  which  he  nevei 
committed.  Irritated  at  his  constancy,  the  In- 
quisitor-general passionately  addressed  him 
m  language  to  tht  following  import : — "  We 
will  ra  her  cruse  you  to  be  burnt  as  guilty, 


THE    TNQUISIT.ON.  137 

than  allow  it  to  bi^  supposed  that  we  have 
imprisoned  you  without  cause  !"  At  the  ap- 
proach of  the  auto-da-f(L*,  the  major  was  ap- 
prised of  his  sentence,  which  was  to  be  burnt 
alive,  and  a  confessor  was  sent  to  his  dungeon 
in  order  to  prepare  him  for  his  execution. 
Overcome  by  the  fear  of  a  death  so  horrid, 
the  major  at  length  resolved  to  play  the  hy- 
pocrite ;  and,  on  the  evening  previous  to  the 
bloody  ceremony,  he  acknowledged  every 
thing,  however  false,  that  had  been  laid  to 
his  charge.  He  was  accordingly  led  out  in 
the  procession  with  a  robe  on  which  the 
flames  were  reversed,  to  intimate  that  by  his 
confession,  though  late,  he  had  escaped  death, 
to  which  he  had  been  condemned  by  the  holy 
tribunal.  All  the  other  promises  of  the  In- 
quisitor-general were  forgotten.  His  pro- 
perty was  confiscated,  and  himself  sentenced 
to  the  galleys  for  five  years. 

It  has  been  clearly  shown,  that  the  Inquisi- 
tors not  unfrequently  condemn  the  innocent 
to  the  flames,  under  the  pretence  of  Judaism 
or  heresy,  while  the  chief  motive  of  these  un- 
just judges  evidently  is,  to  obtain  possession 
of  their  property.  This  will  still  further  ap- 
pear from  the  proceedings  which  were  in 
stituted  against  Melchior  Hernandez,  a  rich 
merchant  of  Murcia,  who  was  imprisoned  in 
the  Inquisition  ol  that  place  in  1564.  At  his 
first  audience,  he  was  accused  of  having  fre- 
quented a  clandestine  synagogue  in  Murcia, 
and  of  having  acted  and  discoursed  in  a  man 
12  * 


138  HISTORY    OF 

ner  that  pioved  his  apostasy  from  the  Christian 
faith.  *  There  were  nine  witnesses  produced 
against  him ;  but  Melchior  not  only  denied 
all  their  averments,  but  showed  that  their 
evidence  was  contradictory,  and  that  several 
of  them  were  his  avowed  enemies. 

After  repeated  audiences,  in  which  this 
unhappy  person  was  exceedingly  harassed, 
he  at  length  told  his  judges,  that  he  remem- 
bered being  in  a  house  in  1553,  where  several 
persons,  whom  he  named,  were  present,  and 
discoursed  on  the  law  of  Moses,  but  that  he 
himself  did  not  join  in  the  conversation.  No- 
thing more  could  be  forced  from  him,  though 
he  was  subjected  to  the  torture ;  and  accord- 
ingly, on  the  18th  of  October,  1566,  he  was 
declared  to  be  a  Jewish  heretic,  and  con- 
demned to  the  flames.  On  the  day  of  his  exe- 
cution, the  9th  of  December,  the  fear  of  death 
induced  him  to  accuse  fourteen  or  fifteen  in- 
dividuals as  forming  part  of  the  assembly,  and 
to  confess  that  he  himself  believed  for  twelve 
months  what  was  said  in  the  Mosaic  Law; 
but  that  he  had  not  confessed,  because  he 
thought  there  was  no  proof  of  his  heresy  in 
the  depositions  of  the  witnesses.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  confession,  Melchior  was  re- 
manded to  prison,  instead  of  being  conducted 
to  the  place  of  execution. 

*  It  ought  to  be  noticed  here,  that  Melchior  was  of 
Jewish  extraction,  though  himself  a  Christian,  and  his 
enemies  pretended  that  he  was  secretly  attached  to  the 
{t  igion  of  his  V  refathers. 


THE    INQUISITION.  139 

From  this  period  till  the  8th  of  June  15G7, 
when  it  was  again  determined  he  should  be 
burnt,  Melchior  was  admitted  to  numerous 
audiences,  and  closely  questioned,  for  the 
purpose  of  eliciting  from  him  further  evi- 
dence of  his  own  heresy,  and  new  accusa- 
tions against  others.  In  order  to  escape  a 
seco;  'd  time,  he  denounced  a  great  number 
of  individuals,  and  added  new  accusations 
against  himself.  The  execution  of  the  sen- 
tence was  accordingly  for  some  time  longer 
suspended,  in  the  hope  of  his  accusing  more 
of  liis  acquaintances.  But  after  fifteen  audi- 
ences, having  made  no  more  disclosures,  he 
was  sentenced  for  the  third  time  to  be  com- 
mitted to  the  flames.  Still  desirous  to  save 
his  life,  on  the  day  appointed,  Melchior  had 
recourse  to  the  same  expedients  as  formerly, 
pretending  that  he  remembered  others  who 
were  guilty;  and  in  five  subsequent  audi- 
ences he  not  only  accused  many  individuals, 
but  added  greatly  to  the  list  of  crimes  alleged 
to  have  been  committed  by  himself. 

The  Inquisitors  then  told  him,  "  That  he 
was  still  guilty  of  concealment,  in  not  men- 
tioning several  persons  not  less  distinguished 
and  well  known  than  those  he  had  already 
denounced,  and  that  he  could  not  be  sup- 
posed to  have  forgotten  them."  Confounded 
at  the  injustice  and  barbarity  of  his  oppres- 
sors, Melchior  exclaimed,  "  What  can  you 
do  to  me  ?  burn  me  ?  well,  then,  be  it  so  :  I 
cannot  a^nfess  vc'iat  I  do  not  kii  )w.     Know, 


140  HIST  3RY    OP 

however,  that  all  those  whom  I  have  accused, 
are  perfectly  innocent.  I  have  invented  what 
I  said,  because  I  perceived  that  you  wished 
me  to  denounce  innocent  persons ;  and,  un- 
acquainted with  the  names  and  quality  of 
these  unfortunate  people,  I  named  all  whom 
I  could  think  of,  in  the  hope  of  finding  an 
end  of  my  misery.  I  now  perceive  that  my 
situation  admits  of  no  relief,  and  I  therefore 
retract  all  my  depositions ;  and  now  I  have 
fulfilled  this  duty,  burn  me  as  soon  as  you 
please."  Hardened  in  their  iniquity,  the  In- 
quisitors condemned  Melchior  for  the  last 
time  to  suffer  death  on  the  7th  of  June.  Pre- 
vious  to  this,  however,  they  again  and  again 
solicited  him  to  retract  his  last  declaration. ; 
but  all  they  could  obtain  from  him  was, 
"  That  he  knew  nothing  of  the  subject  on 
which  he  was  examined.'^ 

The  Inquisitors  then  asked  him  how  this 
declaration  could  be  true,  seeing  he  had  seve- 
ral times  declared  that  he  had  attended  the 
Jewish  assemblies,  believed  in  their  doctrines, 
and  persevered  in  the  belief  for  the  space  of 
one  year,  until  he  was  undeceived  by  a  priest. 
<'  I  spoke  falsely,"  replied  Melchior,  "  when 
I  made  a  declaration  against  myself."  "But 
how  is  it,"  rejoined  the  Inquisitors,  "that 
what  you  have  confessed  of  yourself,  and 
many  other  things  which  you  now  deny,  are 
the  result  of  the  depositions  of  a  great  many 
witnesses?"  "I  do  not  know  if  that  is  true 
or  false,"  answered   Melchior,  "for  I  have 


THE    INQUISITION.  141 

not  seen  the  writings  of  the  trial ;  but  if  the 
witnesses  have  said  that  which  is  imputed  to 
them,  it  is  because  tliey  were  placed  in  the 
same  situation  as  I  am.  They  do  not  love 
me  better  than  I  love  myself;  and  I  have 
certainly  declared  against  myself  both  truth 
and  falsehood."  "  What  motive  had  you  for 
declaring  things  injurious  to  yourself,  if  they 
were  false  ?"  said  the  Inquisitors.  "  I  did 
not  think  it  would  be  injurious  to  me,"  re- 
plied Melchior  ;  "  on  the  contrary,  I  expected 
to  derive  great  advantages  from  it ;  because 
I  saw  that  if  1  did  not  confess  any  thing,  I 
should  be  considered  as  impenitent,  and  the 
truth  would  lead  me  to  the  scaffold.  I  thought 
that  falsehood  would  be  most  useful  to  me, 
as  I  found  it  to  be  so  in  two  autos-da-fe." 

Before  his  execution,  Melchior  made  the 
following  declaration  : — "  That  at  the  point 
of  appearing  before  the  tribunal  of  the  Al- 
mighty, and  without  any  hope  of  escaping 
from  death  by  new  delays,  he  thought  him- 
self bound  to  declare  that  he  had  never  con- 
versed on  the  Mosaic  Law ;  that  all  he  had 
said  on  the  subject  was  founded  on  the  wish 
to  preserve  life,  and  the  belief  that  his  con- 
fe*?sions  were  pleasing  to  the  Inquisitors  ;  that 
he  asked  pardon  of  the  persons  implicated, 
that  God  might  pardon  him,  and  that  no  in- 
jury might  be  done  to  their  honour  and  repu- 
tation." After  making  this  declaration,  Mel- 
ci'ior  was  burnt,  aj  d  all  his  property  seized. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  proceedings 


142  HISTORY    OP 

in  this  case  we  discover  nothing  but  injustice, 
avarice,  and  cruelty ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  effect  of  all  the  punishments  in- 
flicted on  this  unhappy  victim  of  Inquisitorial 
vengeance,  tended  only  to  force  him  for  some 
time  to  be  guilty  of  hypocrisy. 

That  avarice,  indeed,  was  one  of  the  chief 
motives  which  influenced  the  Inquisitors  to 
commit  so  many  cruelties,  is  evident  from 
numerous  facts  ;  one  or  two  of  which,  in  ad- 
dition, we  shall  notice  here.  Nicolas  Burton, 
an  Englishman,  was  apprehended  by  the  In- 
quisition at  Seville,  and  after  enduring  many 
indignities  and  sufferings,  was  burnt  for  his 
attachment  to  the  Protestant  faith.  At  his 
commitment,  all  his  property,  a  great  part 
of  which  belonged  to  English  merchants  for 
whom  he  was  factor,  was  seized.  One  of 
these  merchants,  on  hearing  of  the  imprison- 
ment of  Burton,  and  the  sequestration  of  his 
effects,  sent  an  attorney  of  the  name  of  Fron- 
tom  to  Spain,  for  the  purpose  of  recovering 
his  property.  But  after  daily  solicitations, 
attended  by  no  inconsiderable  expense,  dur- 
ing the  period  of  four  months,  the  Inquisitors 
informed  him  that  more  documents  from 
England  were  required.  Four  months  addi- 
tional were  thus  consumed,  and  more  money 
expended,  in  attending  to  all  the  forms  of 
that  wily  court,  all  to  no  purpose.  The  im- 
portunity of  Frontom  at  length  tired  out  the 
patience  of  the  Inquisitors,  but  determined  to 
keep  possession  of  the  property  so  unjustly 


THE     INitUISITION.  143 

acquired,  they  appointed  a  day  when  Fron- 
tom  should  appear  before  them,  and  on  which 
they  promised  to  put  a  period  to  the  matter 
which  had  remained  so  long  unsettled.  Fron- 
tom  appeared  at  the  time  appointed ;  but  in- 
stead of  restoring  the  effects  of  his  employer, 
they  threw  him  into  the  secret  prisons  of  the 
Inquisition.  After  lying  there  for  four  days, 
he  was  admitted  to  an  audience ;  but  instead 
of  entering  on  the  business  of  the  English 
merchant,  the  Inquisitors  commanded  him  to 
recite  the  "Ave  Mary.^'  Not  wishing  to 
irritate  them,  Frontom  repeated  the  words 
following :  "  Hail,  Mary,  full  of  grace,  the 
Lord  is  with  thee  ;  blessed  art  thou  among 
women,  and  blessed  is  Jesus,  the  fruit  of  thy 
womb.  Amen."  This  was  enough.  He  had 
omitted  these  words  :  "  Holy  Mary,  Mother 
of  God,  pray  for  us  sinners,'' — an  omission 
which  implied  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the 
mtercession  of  saints.  The  consequence  was, 
that  after  being  confined  in  his  dungeon  till 
the  next  auto-da-fe,  he  was  condemned  to 
wear  the  sanbenito  as  suspected  of  heresy  • 
all  his  employer's  property  was  confiscated 
and  he  himself  doomed  to  suffer  a  further 
imprisonment  for  twelve  months  ! 

Another  example  of  Inquisitorial  avarice 
is  given  by  Gonsalvius  Montanus.  About 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  an 
English  vessel  having  entered  the  port  of 
Cadiz,  was  searched  as  usual  by  the  fami- 
liars of  the  Inquisition.     Several  persons  on 


144  HISTORY    OF 

board  were  immediately  seized,  as  being  sus- 
pected of  heresy,  among  wliom  was  a  child 
about  twelve  years  of  age,  the  son  of  the 
proprietor  of  the  vessel.  Their  pretext  for 
apprehending  this  boy  was,  that  he  had  in 
his  possession  the  Psalms  of  David  in  En- 
glish— though  the  real  cause  of  his  imprison- 
ment was  evidently  the  knowledge  which 
they  had  acquired  of  his  father's  wealth,  and 
to  serve  as  a  screen  for  confiscating  both 
the  ship  and  her  cargo.  This  accordingly 
took  place ;  but  the  boy,  instead  of  being 
liberated  after  this  unjust  seizure,  was  de- 
tained so  long  in  prison,  that  he  lost  the  use 
of  both  his  legs.  He  was  subsequently  re- 
moved from  one  place  of  confinement  to 
another:  and  his  afilicted  father,  notwith- 
standing his  efforts  to  procure  his  release, 
met  only  with  the  most  heart-rending  re- 
pulses. What  became  of  the  child  never 
was  known  ;  though  it  appears  that  he  re- 
sisted all  their  solicitations  to  embrace  the 
Romish  faith,  and  adhered  so  firmly  to  the 
truths  which  he  had  been  taught  in  his  fa- 
ther's house,  that  the  jailer  himself  once  ex- 
claimed, that  "  he  was  already  grown  a  great 
little  heretic." 

But  the  Inquisitors  do  not  confine  their 
prosecutions  to  those  who  are  accused  of 
the  crime  of  heresy.  An  off'ence,  however 
trivial,  committed  against  any  of  the  fra- 
ternity of  the  holy  office,  is  summarily  visit- 
ed with  the  utmost  severity.     For  example, 


THE    INQJISITION.  145 

what  can  be  more  disgusting  than  the  fol- 
lowing puerile  yet  tyrannical  conduct  of  the 
Inquisitors  of  Seville,  as  related  by  Gonsal- 
vius?     "The   bishop   of  Terragone,"    says 
that   author,    "chief    Inquisitor   at    Seville, 
went  one  summer  for  his  diversion  to  some 
gardens,  situate  by  the  sea  side,  with  all  his 
Inquisitorial  family,  and  walked  out,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  with  his  episcopal  attendants. 
A  child  of  the  gardener,  two  or  three  years 
old,  accidently  sat  playing  upon  the  side  of 
a  pond  in  the  garden,  where  the  bishop  was 
taking  his  pleasure.     One  of  the  boys  who 
attended   his  lordship  snatched   out  of  the 
hand  of  the  gardener's  child  a  reed  with 
which  he  was  playing,  and  made  him  cry. 
Hearing  his  child  crying,  the  gardener  came 
to  the  place,  and  ascertaining  the  cause,  he 
desired  the  boy  to  restore  the  reed  to  the 
child.     But  this  having  been  refused,  accom- 
panied  by  the  most  offensive  and  insolent 
expressions,  the  gardener  took  it  from  him, 
in  effecting  which,  he  slightly  scratched  the 
boy's   hand.     Like  all  who  are  connected 
with  the  holy  tribunal,  the  boy  resolved  to 
be  revenged,  and  complained  to  the  Inquisi- 
tor of  the  treatment  which  he  had  received 
The  gardener  was  immediately  apprehended, 
thrown  into  the  prisons  of  the  Inqiiisition,  and 
loaded  with  irons ;  and  his  wife  and  children 
were  reduced   to   absolute   beggary.     After 
suffering  nine  months'  confinement,  the  holy 
office  thought  fit  to  release  him,  with  the 
13 


146  HISTORY    OP 

consolatory  intimation,  that  they  had  dealt 
with  him' much  more  mercifully  than  his 
crime  deserved." 

The  following  case,  related  by  the  same 
writer,  will  show  still  further  the  flagrant  in- 
justice of  Inquisitorial  tribunals.  "  There  was, 
at  Seville,  a  certain  poor  man,"  says  that 
author,  in  his  own  homely  style,  «  who  daily 
maintained  himself  and  his  family  by  the 
sweat  of  his  brow.  A  certain  parson  detained 
his  wife  from  him  by  violence,  neither  the 
Inquisition  nor  any  other  tribunal  punishing 
this  heinous  injury.  As  the  poor  man  was 
one  day  talking  about  purgatory  with  some 
other  persons  of  his  own  circumstances,  he 
happened  to  say,  rather  out  of  rustic  simpli- 
city than  any  certain  design,  that  he  truly 
had  enough  of  purgatory  already,  by  the 
rascally  parson's  violently  detaining  from 
him  his  wife.  This  speech  was  reported  to 
the  good  parson,  and  gave  him  a  handle  to 
double  the  poor  man's  injury,  by  accusing 
him  to  the  Inquisitors  as  having  a  false  opin- 
ion concerning  purgatory ;  and  this  the  holy 
tribunal  thought  more  worthy  of  punishment 
than  the  parson's  wickedness.  The  poor 
wretch  was  taken  up  for  this  trifling  speech, 
kept  in  the  prisons  of  the  Inquisition  for  two 
years,  and  at  length  compelled  to  walk  in 
procession  at  an  auto-da-fe,  wearing  the 
infamous  sanbenito.  After  suflering  other 
three  years'  imprisonment,  he  was  dismissed. 
Neither  did  they  spare  the  poor  creature  any 


THE    INQUISITION.  147 

thing  of  his  little  substance,  though  they  did 
Iiis  wile  to  the  parson,  but  adjudged  all  the 
remains  of  what  he  had  after  his  long  im- 
prisonment, to  the  exchequer  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion." 

Large  promises  of  pardon  and  favour  are 
usually  iield  out  by  the  Inquisitors  to  all 
who  voluntarily  accuse  themselves  of  crimes 
which  are  hidden  from  the  eye  of  man.  But 
whoever  thus  puts  himself  in  their  power, 
finds  to  his  sad  experience,  that  the  promises 
of  Inquisitors  are  no  more  than  wind,  and 
intended  only  for  a  snare  to  catch  the  un- 
wary. Of  this  we  shall  select  only  one  ex- 
ample, from  many  which  might  be  given. 
In  1644,  Antonius  de  Vega,  allured  by  the 
professions  of  sympathy  and  kindness  which 
the  Inquisitors  pretended  to  show  to  all  who 
voluntarily  made  confession  of  their  crimes 
before  the  holy  tribunal,  accused  himself  of 
having,  at  a  former  period  of  his  life,  enter- 
tained the  opinion  that  a  man  might  be  saved 
by  the  law  of  Moses.  This  error,  however, 
he  had  long  since  renounced,  and  he  there- 
fore begged  the  promised  absolution  from  the 
judges  of  the  holy  office.  But,  alas  !  what 
must  have  been  his  astonishment  and  horror, 
to  hear  the  mild  and  merciful  lords  of  the 
Inquisition  order  him  to  be  confined  in  the 
dungeons  appropriated  for  heretics  !  After 
three  years'  imprisonment,  the  miserable  con- 
fessor was  condemned  to  appear  at  an  auto- 


148  HISTORY    OP 

/ 

da-fe,  wearing  the  sanbenito,  his  property 
was  confiscated,  and  himself  banished.* 

"  Not  lions  3rouching  in  their  dens 
Surprise  their  heedless  prey 
With  greater  cunning,  or  express 
More  savage  *'age  than  they." 

Even  the  death  of  a  prisoner  is  no  barrier 
against  the  fury  of  the  Inquisition,  or  the 
grave  an  asylum  against  its  persecutions. 
His  bones,  in  the  event  of  being  buried,  are 
dug  out  of  the  grave  and  burnt,  his  memory 
is  declared  infamous,  and  his  children  are 
disinherited.  Many  are  the  instances  of  this 
barbarous  practice  on  record,  the  chief  mo- 
tives of  the  holy  tribunal  in  thus  waging  war 
with  the  dead,  being  to  gain  possession  of 
their  property.  In  proof  of  this,  we  shall 
notice  the  two  following  examples  only. 

In  the  first  auto-da-fe  at  Valladolid  in 
1559,  Donna  Leonora  de  Vibero,  the  mother 
of  five  childran,  who  appeared  as  criminals 
on  this  occasion,  had  died  some  years  before, 
and  was  buried  in  a  sepulchral  chapel  of 
wnich  she  was  the  proprietress.  No  suspi- 
cion of  heresy  was  attached  to  her  at  the 
time  of  her  death ;  but,  on  the  imprisonment 
of  her  children,  the  fiscal  of  the  Inquisition 

•  The  homely  and  ludicrous  remark  of  Salgado,  who 
relates  this  story,  is  far  from  being  inapplicable : 
•'Though  this  action,"  says  he,  "was  voluntary,  and 
deserved  forgiveness,  yet,  as  in  the  Eiglish  proverb,  it 
is,  confess  and  be  hanged." 


THE    INQUISITION  149 

at  Valkidolid  commenced  a  process  against 
her ;  and  certain  witnesses  under  tlie  torture 
having  deponed  that  her  housci  was  used  as 
a  temple  for  the  Lutlierans,  sentence  was 
passed,  declaring  her  to  liave  died  in  a  state 
of  heresy,  her  memory  to  be  infamous,  and 
her  property  confiscated  ;  and  ordering  her 
bones  to  be  dug  up,  and,  together  with  tier 
efMgy,  pubUcly  committed  to  the  flames ; 
her  house  to  be  razed,  the  ground  on  which 
it  stood  to  be  sown  with  salt,  and  a  pillar, 
with  an  inscription  stating  the  cause  of  its 
demolition,  to  be  erected  on  the  spot.  All 
this  was  done,  and  the  last  mentioned  monu- 
ment of  fanaticism  and  ferocity  against  the 
dead  was  to  be  seen  until  the  year  1809, 
when  it  was  removed  during  the  occupation 
of  Spain  by  the  French. 

The  other  case  referred  to  is  of  a  later  date. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
Marc  Antonio  de  Dominis,  archbishop  of 
Spalatro,  was  considered  one  of  the  most 
learned  men  of  his  age,  particularly  in  di- 
vinity and  history,  both  sacred  and  profane. 
His  learning  made  him  inquisitive,  and  it 
was  at  length  discovered  that  he  had  em- 
braced the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation. 
Having  written  a  large  work  on  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  he  was  exceedingly  desirous  of 
having  it  published  during  his  lifetime ;  but 
this  he  was  aware  could  not  be  accomplished 
in  Italy.  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  who  was  at 
that  time  the  English  ambassador  at  Venice. 
13* 


150  HISTORY    Oi' 

gave  Dominis  a  letter  from  James  I.  King  of 
Britain,  inviting  him  to  come  to  England 
This  invitation  was  accepted  by  Dominis, 
and  enjoying  the  patronage  of  James,  who 
settled  a  pension  on  him  suitable  to  his  dig- 
nity, he  published  the  work  which  he  had 
so  much  at  heart.  Happy  would  it  have 
been  for  him  had  he  remained  in  England ; 
but  the  pope,  the  Inquisition,  and  the  Spa- 
nish ambassador,  made  such  vast  offers  both 
of  pardon  and  remuneration,  as  first  shook 
his  resolution,  and  finally  induced  him  to  ac- 
cept of  them.  The  unhappy  prelate  forgot, 
on  this  occasion,  what  he  had  often  repeated 
in  his  works,  namely,  that  the  court  of  Rome 
never  forgets  or  forgives  an  affront. 

He  accordingly  set  out  for  Rome,  in  spite 
of  all  the  arguments  of  his  friends  in  England 
to  the  contrary,  who  represented  to  him  the 
danger  to  which  he  exposed  himself,  and  how 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  it  would  be  for 
him  to  escape.  The  result  was  such  as  might 
have  been  expected  ;  for  no  sooner  did  he 
arrive  in  Italy,  than  he  was  arrested  and 
confined  m  the  prisons  of  the  Inquisition  at 
Rome.  His  trial  went  on  very  slowly,  and 
he  at  length  died  in  prison,  according  to  some 
authors,  «  through  the  effects  of  poison  ad- 
ministered to  him  by  his  own  relations,  in 
order  to  spare  him  and  themselves  the  shame 
of  his  being  brought  out  in  an  auto-da-fe." 

Disappointed  in  their  expectation  of  putting 
Dominis  to  death  by  the  hand  of  the  execu 


THE    INQUISITION  151 

tioner,  the  Inquisitors  determined  to  inflict 
tlie  punislunent  proposed  on  his  dead  body. 
On  tiie  21st  of  December,  1624,  accordingly, 
in  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  and  amidst  a  large 
concourse  of  spectators,  liis  sentence  was  read 
as  follows: — "That  Marc  Antonio  de  Domi- 
nis,  having  been  convicted  of  heresy,  was 
found  to  have  incurred  all  the  censures  and 
penalties  appointed  to  heretics  by  the  sacred 
canons  and  papal  constitutions ;  they  accord- 
ingly declared  him  to  be  deprived  of  honours, 
prerogatives,  and  ecclesiastical  dignities,  con- 
demned his  memory,  excommunicated  him 
from  the  ecclesiastical  court,  and  delivered 
over  his  dead  body  and  effigy  into  the  power 
of  the  governor  of  the  city,  that  he  might 
inflict  on  it  the  punishment  due,  according  to 
the  rule  and  practice  of  the  Church.  And 
finally,  they  commanded  his  impious  and 
heretical  writings  to  be  publicly  burnt,  and 
declared  all  his  eff'ects  to  be  forfeited  to  the 
exchequer  of  the  Holy  Inquisition."  This 
sentence  was  carried  into  eff'ect  the  same  day, 
amidst  a  vast  concourse  of  spectators,  with 
all  the  mock  solemnity  which  characterizes 
the  proceedings  of  that  mfamous  tribunal. 


152  HISTORY    OF 


CHAPTER  VI 

Hostility  of  the  Inquisition  to  the  progress  of  li.erature 
and  science— examples— -freemasonry  a  peculiar  ob- 
ject of  persecution  by  the  holy  tribunal— interesting 
trial  of  M.  Tournon— cruelty  of  the  Inquisition  in  the 
nineteenth  century— affecting  account  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  Don  Miguel  Juan  Antonio  Solano— remarks 
by  Puigblanch  on  the  iniquitous  procedure  of  the 
holy  office. 

We  have  already  seen,  in  the  case  of  the 
famous  GaUleo,  the  determined  opposition  of 
the  Inquisition  to  the  progress  of  science. 
Many  other  examples  of  a  similar  kind  might 
be  added.  Not  content  with  exerting  a  rigid 
censorship  over  the  press,  the  Inquisitors  in- 
truded into  private  houses,  ransacked  the  li- 
braries of  the  learned  and  curious,  and  car- 
ried off  and  retained  at  their  pleasure,  such 
books  as  they  in  their  ignorance  suspected  to 
be  of  a  dangerous  character,  besides  inflict- 
ing punishment  on  their  owners.  So  lute  as 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  we 
Sind  Manuel  Martini,  dean  of  Alicant,  and 
me  of  the  most  enlightened  of  his  country- 
men in  that  age,  complaining  bitterly  in  his 
confidential  correspondence  of  what  he  suf- 
fered from  such  proceedings. 

Under  the  reign  of  the  fanatical  Philip  V., 
Don  Melchior  de  Macanez,  one  of  the  most 
learned  statesmen  in  Spain,  ha  'ing  drawn  up 


IFIE     INQTTISITION 


153 


a  report  by  order  of  the  king,  at  a  time  when 
it  was  ill  agitation  to  suspend  the  remittances 
of  money  with  which  Spain  then  supplied 
Rome,  was  compelled  to  take  refuge  in 
France,  in  order  to  avoid  being  immured  in 
the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition.  His  pro- 
perty was  in  the  meantime  seized,  and  him- 
self excommunicated.  After  an  exile  of  ten 
years,  during  which  he  made  numerous  sup- 
phcations  to  his  faithless  sovereign,  he  was 
at  length  recalled  with  the  promise  of  par- 
don. But  on  his  arrival  in  Spain  he  was 
arrested  and  confined  in  the  Inquisition  of 
Segovia,  till  the  reign  of  Charles  III. 

Luis  de  Leon,  Professor  of  Scripture  in 
the  University  of  Salamanca,  was  appre- 
hended and  imprisoned  in  the  Inquisition, 
for  making  a  version  of  the  Song  of  Solo- 
mon for  his  private  use.  For  this  heinous 
crime,  he  was  condemned  to  solitary  con- 
finement for  no  less  than  five  years.  The 
professors  of  the  Hebrew  and  Chaldean  lan- 
guages, and  of  Rhetoric  and  Greek,  in  the 
same  University,  were  likewise  arrested  and 
imprisoned  by  the  holy  tribunal,  for  publish- 
ing works  eminently  calculated  to  improve 
the  mind,  and  advance  the  literature  of  their 
country. 

The  Inquisition,  indeed,  "  has  at  all  times 
evinced  towards  learned  men  the  greatest 
enmity,  and  has  driven  many  to  the  brink  of 
the  precipice  through  its  absurd  and  violent 
condu'^t,  -tr  caused  them  to  separate  from  the 


154  HISTORl     OF 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  particularly  wh«!n 
they  have  been  animated  by  more  than  or- 
dinary zeal.  Aonius  Palearius,  whose  sin- 
gular merit,  and  disastrous  end  wrest  from 
historians  the  most  hvely  sentiments  of  com- 
passion, may  serve  as  an  example  of  this 
fatal  truth.  His  merit  was  universally  ac- 
knowledged, not  only  on  the  score  of  philo- 
sophy, of  which  he  was  a  professor  in  Milan, 
when  he  was  arrested,  and  where  he  had 
besides  pubhshed  an  estimable  Latin  poem, 
on  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  as  well  as 
several  orations  in  the  same  language,  but 
also  as  far  as  regards  theology,  which,  not- 
withstanding he  was  a  secular,  and  married, 
he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree.  Many 
cardinals,  and  even  Pope  Paul  IV.,  honour- 
ed him  with  their  friendship ;  and  Philip  II. 
granted  him  certain  privileges,  and  ordered 
a  large  salary  to  be  assigned  him  for  his  sub- 
sistence. His  zeal  was  particularly  display- 
ed in  drawing  up  a  charge,  or,  as  he  calls  it, 
a  declaration  against  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  as 
corrupters  of  discipline,  which  he  addressed 
to  Charles  V.  and  the  three  other  Christian 
princes,  in  order  to  excite  attention  to  this 
subject  on  the  convocation  of  a  general 
council,  at  that  time  agitated,  and  which 
ended  in  that  of  Trent.  This  paper  was  in 
the  meantime  deposited  in  the  hands  of  his 
friends,  in  case  he  should  previously  die,  or 
the  Inquisition,  which  had  already  threaten 


THE    INQUISITION.  155 

eu  him,  should  sacrifice  him,  as  it  afterwards 
did.* 

"  Without  entering  into  a  long  enumera- 
tion of  all  the  sciences,  as  well  as  of  the  per- 
sons who  have  been  eminent  therein,  it 
would  not  be  possible  to  give  a  complete 
idea  of  the  individuals  who  have  suffered 
by  the  proceedings  of  the  Inquisition  ;  John 
Reuchlin,  in  Germany — Picus,  Prhice  of  Mi- 
randula,  in  Italy — Peter  Ramus  in  France — 


•  The  following  is  an  extract  from  this  interesting 
paper. 

"  What  is  it  that  princes  wait  for,  in  order  to  prove 
that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  indifferent  to 
them,  by  promoting  a  salutary  reform  ]  We  have  been 
forbidden  to  speak  the  truth  ;  the  edifice  raised  by  the 
apostles  has  been  destroyed;  the  word  of  God  is  belied  ; 
the  majesty  of  his  precepts  is  diminished  ;  the  fruit  of 
the  cross,  as  far  as  regards  the  popes,  rendered  useless  ; 
great  and  unimaginable  abuses  have  been  introduced; 
and,  in  short,  all  the  divine  and  human  rights  have  been 
confounded.  Who  therefore  can  be  so  great  an  enemy 
to  the  name  of  Christ,  as  to  behold  all  this,  and  still 
remain  silent  1  Or  who  would  not  wish,  since  he  is 
unable  to  remedy  it,  rather  to  die,  than  be  held  as  an 
accomplice  in  so  much  iniquity  ?  With  regard  to  my- 
self, I  can  assert,  that  I  shall  never  regret  having  un- 
dertaken the  defence  of  the  gospel,  whatever  may  be 
the  danger  to  which  I  am  thereby  exposed.  Here  thou 
hast  me:  oh!  executioner,  tie  my  hands,  cover  my 
head,  discharge  thy  axe  on  my  neck,  since  I  voluntarily 
ofTer  myself  to  the  anger  of  the  popes,  as  well  as  to  the 
torments  they  may  seek  to  inflict  upon  me.  And  if 
with  my  death  they  are  not  satiated,  and  should  wish 
to  see  my  entrails  torn  to  pieces,  and  converted  into 
ashes,  here  thou  hast  me  ;  oh !  executioner,  approach 
I  will  endure  all." 


156  HISTORY    OF 

and  Desiderius  Erasmus,  every  where — had 
to  endure  the  lash  of  this  infernal  fury  ;  yet 
no  nation  has  thereby  suffered  so  much  as 
Spain.      In  the  seventeenth  century,  father 
Pedro  de  Soto,  a  wise  and  pious  writer — 
father  Juan  de  Villagarcia,  professor  of  the- 
ology at  Oxford — and  in  general  all  the  learn- 
ed men  who  at  that  time  visited  England, 
became  its  victims.      Father  Jose  de   Sigii- 
enza,  a  diligent  and  polished  historian — and 
in  more  recent  times,  many  distinguished  in- 
dividuals, by  their  acquirements  in  history, 
theology,   mathematics,    politics,    philology, 
&c.,   became    objects    of    Inquisitorial   ven- 
geance.    Finally,  within  late   years,  not   a 
few  enhghtened  persons  of  literary  pursuits 
and  known  probity,  have  had  to  drag  a  mise- 
rable existence  within  the  walls  of  the  Inqui- 
sition, on  account   of  denunciations  ridicu- 
lous and  chimerical,  or  have  been  admonished 
or  threatened  by  it.     Even  in  the  way  ot 
artists  of  any  pre-eminence,  this  tribunal  has 
placed  obstacles.     A  navigator,  who,  by  dis- 
covering a  new  route,  had  performed  a  voy- 
age in  less  than  the  customary  time — a  mas- 
ter of  the  first  rudiments,  who,  by  his  genius 
and  constancy,  had  brought  forward  and  im- 
proved his  scholars  quicker  than   his  com- 
petitors— and  even  the   handicraftsman  who 
has  enjoyed  more  credit  than  others  of  his 
own  class — have  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
the    Inquisition,  and    been  entangled  in   its 
toik" 


THE    INQUISITION.  15/ 

"  The  Inquisition,"  says  Dr.  M'Crie,  "  was 
not  satisfied  with  preventing  heretical  men 
and  books  from  coming  into  Spain,  it  exert- 
ed itself  with  equal  zeal  in  preventing  ortho- 
dox horses  from  being  exported  out  of  the 
kingdom.  Incredible  or  ludicrous  as  this 
may  appear  to  the  reader,  nothing  can  be 
more  unquestionable  than  the  fact,  and  no- 
thing demonstrates  more  decidedly  the  un- 
principled character  of  the  Inquisitors,  as 
well  as  those  who  had  recourse  to  its  agency 
to  promote  their  political  schemes.  As  early 
as  the  fourteenth  century  it  had  been  declar- 
ed illegal  to  transport  horses  from  Spain  to 
France.  This  prohibition  originated  entirely 
in  views  of  political  economy,  and  it  was 
the  business  of  the  officers  of  the  customs  to 
prevent  the  contraband  trade.  But  on  oc- 
casiDn  of  the  wars  which  arose  between  the 
Papists  and  Protestants  of  France,  and  the 
increase  of  the  latter  on  the  Spanish  borders, 
it  occurred  to  Philip  as  an  excellent  expe- 
dient for  putting  down  the  prohibited  com- 
merce, to  commit  the  task  to  the  Inquisi- 
tion, whose  services  would  be  more  effec- 
tual than  those  of  a  hundred  thousand  fron- 
tier guards.  With  this  view  he  procured  a 
bull  from  the  Pope,  which,  with  a  special 
reference  to  the  Protestants  of  France,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  Beam  in  particular,  de- 
clared all  to  be  suspected  of  heresy  who 
should  furnish  arms,  ammunition,  or  other 
instruments  of  war  to  heretics.  In  conse- 
14 


158  HISTORY    OF 

quence  of  this,  the  council  of  the  supreme, 
in  1569,  added  to  the  annual  edict  of  denun- 
ciation a  clause  obliging  all,  under  the  pain 
of  excommunication,  to  inform  against  any 
who  had  bought  or  transported  horses  for 
the  use  of  the  French  Protestants,  which 
was  afterwards  extended  to  all  who  sent 
them  across  the  Pyrenees.  For  this  offence 
numbers  were  fined,  whipped,  and  con- 
demned to  the  galleys,  by  the  Inquisitorial 
tribunals  on  the  frontiers.  Always  bent  on 
extending  their  jurisdiction,  the  Inquisitors 
sought  to  bring  under  their  cognizance  all 
questions  respecting  the  contraband  trade  in 
saltpetre,  sulphur,  and  powder." 

Freemasonry,  as  has  been  already  stated, 
was  a  very  heinous  crime  in  the  eye  of  the 
Inquisition.  The  following  trial  which  took 
place  at  Madrid,  in  1757,  will  sufficiently 
prove  the  hatred  of  the  "  Holy  Office,"  to 
all  who  were  connected  with  that  order.  A 
Frenchman  of  the  name  of  M.  Tournon,  had 
been  invited  to  Spain  to  instruct  the  Spa- 
niards in  the  art  of  making  brass  or  cop- 
per buckles ;  but  in  the  year  above  men- 
tioned, he  was  denounced  to  the  Inquisition, 
by  one  of  his  pupils,  as  a  favourer  of  heresy. 
His  heresy  consisted  in  having  asked  some 
of  his  pupils  to  become  freemasons,  and  ob- 
tained their  consent.  At  his  first  audience, 
the  following  conversation  took  place  be- 
tween the  Inquisitors  and  M.  Tournon, 
which,  after  the  cruelties   that   have   been 


THK    INQUISITION.  159 

'etailed,  will  both  relieve  and   amuse    the 
'leader.* 

Quest.  Do  you  know  or  suppose  why 
you  liave  been  arrested  by  the  holy  office  ? 

^ns.  I  suppose  it  is  for  having  said  that  I 
was  a  freemason. 

Q.  Why  do  you  suppose  so  ? 

*d.  Because  I  have  informed  my  pupii^ 
that  I  was  of  that  order,  and  I  fear  they  have 
denounced  me  ;  for  I  have  perceived  lately, 
that  they  speak  to  me  with  an  air  of  mys- 
tery, and  their  questions  lead  me  to  beheve 
that  they  think  me  a  heretic. 

Q.  Did  you  tell  them  the  truth  ? 

^.  Yes. 

Q.  You  are,  then,  a  freemason  ? 

^.  Yes. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  so  ? 

Ji.  For  twenty  years. 

Q.  Have  you  attended  the  assemblies  ot 
freemasons  ? 

Ji.  Yes,  at  Paris. 

Q.  Have  you  attended  them  in  Spain  ? 

./?.  No  :  I  do  net  know  if  there  are  any 
lodges  in  Spain. 

Q.  If  there  were,  wc  uld  you  attend  them  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Are  you  a  Christian,  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic .> 

Ji.  Yes ;  I  was  baptized  in  the  parish  of 
St.  Paul,  at  Paris. 

*  The  trial  is  given  in  full  by  Llorente,  from  which 
the  above  is  taken. 


IGO  HISTORY    OF 

Q.  How,  as  a  Christian,  can  you  dare  to 
attend  masonic  assemblies,  when  you  know, 
or  ought  to  know,  that  they  are  contrary  to 
religion  ? 

*d.  I  did  not  know  that ;  I  am  ignorant  of 
it  at  present,  because  I  never  saw  nor  heard 
any  thing  there  which  was  contrary  to  reli- 
gion. 

Q.  How  can  you  say  that,  when  you 
know  that  freemasons  profess  mdifference  in 
matters  of  religion,  which  is  contrary  to  the 
articles  of  faith,  which  teach  us  that  no  man 
can  be  saved  who  does  not  profess  the  Catho- 
lic, Apostolic,  and  Roman  religion  ? 

t^.  The  freemasons  do  not  profess  that 
mdifference.  But  it  is  indifferent  if  the  per- 
son received  into  the  order  be  a  Catholic  or 
not. 

Q.  Then  the  freemasons  are  an  anti-reli- 
gious body  ? 

A.  That  cannot  be ;  for  the  object  of  the 
institution  is  not  to  combat  or  deny  the  ne- 
cessity or  utility  of  any  religion,  but  for  the 
exercise  of  charity  towards  the  unfortunate 
of  any  sect,  particularly  if  he  is  a  member  of 
the  society. 

Q.  One  proof  that  indifference  is  the  reli- 
gious character  of  freemasons,  is,  that  they 
do  not  acknowledge  the  Holy  Trinity,  since 
they  only  confess  one  God,  whom  they  call 
the  "  Great  Architect  of  the  Universe,"  which 
agrees  with  the  doctrine  of  the  heretical  phi- 
losophers, who  sy  there  is  no  true  religion 


THE    INQUISITION.  161 

t  natural  religion,  in  which  the  exigence 
.{  God  the  Creator  only  is  allowed,  and  the 
rest  considered  as  a  human  invention.  And 
as  M.  Tournon  has  professed  himself  to  be 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  he  is  re- 
quired, by  the  respect  he  owes  to  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  true  God  and  man,  and  to  his 
blessed  mother,  the  Virgin  Mary,  our  Lady, 
to  declare  the  truth  according  to  his  oath, 
because  in  that  case  he  will  acquit  his  con- 
science, and  it  will  be  allowable  to  treat  him 
with  that  mercy  and  compassion,  which  the 
Holy  Office  always  shows  towards  sinners 
who  confess ;  and  if,  on  the  contrary,  he  con- 
ceals any  thing,  he  will  be  punished  with  all 
the  severity  of  justice,  according  to  the  holy 
canons,  and  the  laws  of  the  kingdom. 

*d.  The  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is 
neither  maintained  nor  combated  in  the  ma- 
sonic lodges ;  neither  is  the  religious  system 
of  the  natural  philosophers  approved  or  re- 
jected. God  is  designated  as  the  Great  Ar- 
chitect of  the  Universe,  according  to  the  alle- 
gories of  the  freemasons,  which  reiate  to 
architecture.  In  order  to  fulfil  my  promise 
of  speaking  truth,  I  must  repeat,  that  in 
masonic  lodges,  nothing  takes  place  which 
concerns  any  religious  system,  and  that  the 
subjects  treated  of  are  foreign  to  religion, 
under  the  allegories  of  architectural  works. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  as  a  Catholic,  that  it  is 
a  sin  of  superstition  to  mingle  holy  and  r^^U 
gious  things  with  profane  things  ? 
14* 


162  HISTORY  or 

A.  I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
the  particular  things  which  are  prohibited  as 
contrary  to  the  purity  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion. But  I  have  believed  till  now,  that 
those  who  confound  the  one  with  the  other, 
either  by  mistake,  or  a  vain  belief,  are  guilty 
of  the  sin  of  superstition. 

Q.  Is  it  true,  that  in  the  ceremonies  which 
accompany  the  reception  of  a  mason,  the 
crucified  image  of  our  Saviour,  the  corpse 
of  a  man,  and  a  skull,  and  other  objects  of  a 
profane  nature,  are  made  use  of? 

A.  The  general  statutes  of  freemasonry  do 
not  ordain  these  things ;  if  they  are  made  use 
of,  it  must  arise  from  a  particular  custom, 
or  from  the  arbitrary  regulations  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  body,  who  are  commissioned  to 
prepare  for  the  reception  of  candidates; 
for  each  lodge  has  particular  customs  and 
ceremonies. 

§.  That  is  not  the  question ;  say  if  it  is 
true,  that  these  ceremonies  are  observed  in 
masonic  lodges  ? 

A.  Yes,  or  no,  according  to  the  regulations 
of  those  who  are  charged  with  the  ceremo- 
nies of  the  institution. 

Q.  Were  they  observed  when  you  were 
initiated  ? 

A.  No. 

Q.  What  oath  is  it  necessary  to  take,  on 
being  received  a  freemason  ? 

Ji.  We  sweai  to  observe  secresy. 

Q    On  what? 


THE    INQUISITICN.  163 

A.  Oil  things  which  it  may  be  inconve- 
nient to  publish. 

Q.  Is  this  oath  accompanied  by  execra- 
tions? 

Ji.  Yes. 

Q.  What  are  they  ? 

Ji.  We  consent  to  suffer  all  the  evils  which 
can  afflict  tlie  body  and  soul,  if  we  violate 
the  oaih. 

Q.  Of  what  importance  is  this  oath,  smce 
it  is  believed  that  such  formidable  execrations 
may  be  used  without  indecency  } 

Ji.  That  of  good  order  in  the  society. 

Q.  What  passes  in  these  lodges  which  it 
might  be  inconvenient  to  publish.^ 

A.  Nothing,  if  it  is  looked  upon  without 
prejudice ;  but,  as  people  are  generally  mis- 
taken in  this  matter,  it  is  necessary  to  avoid 
giving  cause  of  malicious  interpretations; 
and  this  would  take  place,  if  what  passes 
when  the  brethren  assemble,  were  made 
public. 

Q.  Of  what  use  is  the  crucifix,  if  the  re- 
ception of  a  freemason  is  not  considered  as  a 
religious  act  ? 

A.  It  is  present,  to  penetrate  the  soul  with 
the  most  profound  respect,  at  the  moment 
that  the  novice  takes  the  oath.  It  is  not  used 
in  every  lodge,  and  only  when  particular 
grades  are  conferred.* 

Q.  Why  is  the  skull  used  ? 

A.  That  the  ilea  of  aeath  may  inspire  a 
horror  of  perjurj 


164  HISTORY    OP 

Q.  Of  what  use  is  the  corpse  ? 

./?.  To  complete  the  allegory  of  Hiram, 
architect  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  who,  i* 
is  said,  was  assassinated  by  traitors,  and  to  in- 
duce a  greater  detestation  of  assassination, 
and  other  offences  against  our  neighbours, 
to  whom  we  ought  to  be  as  benevolent 
brothers. 

Q.  Is  it  true,  that  the  festival  of  St.  John 
is  celebrated  in  lodges,  and  that  the  masons 
have  chosen  him  for  their  patron  ? 

^.  Yes. 

Q.  What  worship  is  rendered  him  in  cele- 
brating his  festival  ? 

*^.  None  ;  that  it  may  not  be  mingled  with 
profane  things.  This  celebration  is  confined 
to  a  fraternal  repast,  after  which  a  discourse 
is  read,  exhorting  the  guests  to  beneficence 
toward  their  fellow-creatures,  in  honour  of 
God,  the  great  Architect,  Creator,  and  Pre- 
server of  the  universe. 

Q,  Is  it  true,  that  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars 
are  honoured  in  the  lodges  ? 

^.  No. 

Q.  Is  it  true,  that  their  images  or  symbols 
are  exposed  ? 

^.  Yes. 

Q.  Why  are  they  so  ? 

*^.  In  order  to  elucidate  the  allegories  of 
the  great,  continual,  and  true  light,  which 
the  lodges  receive  from  the  great  Architect 
of  the  world ;  and  these  representations  be- 


THE    INQUISITION.  165 

long  to  the  brethren,  and  engage  them  to  be 
charitable. 

Q.  M.  Tournon  will  observe,  that  all  the 
explanations  he  has  given  of  the  facts  and 
ceremonies  which  take  place  in  the  lodges, 
are  false,  and  ditierent  from  those  which  he 
voluntarily  communicated  to  other  persons, 
worthy  of  belief;  he  is  therefore  again  in- 
vited, by  the  respect  he  owes  to  God,  and  the 
Holy  Virgin,  to  declare  and  confess  the  here- 
sies of  inditierentism,  the  errors  of  supersti- 
tion, which  mingle  holy  and  pr  )fane  things 
and  the  errors  of  idolatry,  which  led  him  to 
worship  the  stars.  This  confession  is  neces- 
sary for  the  acquittal  of  his  conscience,  and 
the  good  of  his  soul,  because,  if  he  confesses 
with  sorrow  for  having  committed  these 
crimes,  detesting  them,  and  humbly  soliciting 
pardon,  (before  the  fiscal  accuses  him  of 
these  heinous  sins,)  the  holy  tribunal  will  be 
permitted  to  exercise  towards  him  that  com- 
passion and  mercy,  which  it  always  displays 
to  repentant  sinners ;  and  because,  if  he  be 
judicially  accused,  he  must  be  treated  with 
all  the  severity  prescribed  against  heretics 
by  the  holy  canons,  apostolical  bulls,  and  the 
laws  of  the  kingdom. 

*j3.  I  have  declared  the  truth,  and  if  any 
witnesses  have  deposed  to  the  contrary,  they 
have  mistaken  my  words ;  for  I  have  never 
spoken  on  this  subject  to  any  but  the  work- 
men in  my  manufactory,  and  then  only  in  the 
same  sense  conveyei  by  my  replies. 


166  HISTORY    OP 

Q.  Not  content  with  being  a  freemason, 
you  have  persuaded  other  person.?  to  be  re- 
ceived into  the  order,  and  to  embrace  the 
heretical,  superstitious,  and  pagan  errors,  into 
which  you  have  fallen? 

*d.  It  is  true,  that  I  have  requested  these 
persons  to  become  freemasons,  because  1 
thought  it  would  be  useful  to  them,  if  they 
travelled  into  foreign  countries,  where  they 
might  meet  brothers  of  their  order,  who  could 
assist  them  in  any  difficulty  ;  but  it  is  not  true 
that  I  engaged  them  to  adopt  any  errors  con- 
trary to  the  Catholic  faith,  since  no  such 
errors  are  to  be  found  in  freemasonry,  which 
does  not  concern  any  points  of  doctrine. 

Q.  It  has  been  already  proved,  that  these 
errors  are  not  chimerical ;  therefore,  let  M. 
Tournon  consider  that  he  has  been  a  dogma- 
tizing heretic,  and  that  it  is  necessary  that  he 
should  acknowledge  it  with  humility,  and 
ask  pardon  and  absolution  for  the  censures 
which  he  has  incurred ;  since,  if  he  persists 
m  his  obstinacy,  he  will  destroy  both  his  body 
and  soul :  and  as  this  is  the  first  audience  of 
■monition,  he  is  advised  to  reflect  on  his  con- 
dition, and  prepare  for  the  two  other  audi- 
ences which  are  granted  by  the  compassion 
and  mercy  which  the  holy  tribunal  always 
feels  for  the  accused. 

After  undergoing  this  examination,  M. 
Tournon  was  remanded  to  prison.  In  two 
subsequent  audiences  he  persisted  in  giving 
the  same  answers;  but  perceiving  at  length, 


THE    INQUISITION.  1G7 

that  the  only  method  by  which  he  might  es- 
cape punishment,  was  to  acknowledge  that 
he  was  wrong,  he  pretended  that  lie  might 
have  been  deceived,  from  being  ignorant  of 
particular  doctrines,  and  requested  absolution. 
He  was  accordingly  sentenced  to  one  year's 
imprisonment,  and  to  be  afterwards  banished 
for  ever  from  Spain,  and  obliged  at  tlie  same 
time  to  promise  that  he  would  never  again 
attend  the  assemblies  of  the  freemasons. 

The  following  account  of  the  persecution 
of  a  Spanish  Protestant  priest,  who  was  im- 
prisoned in  the  Inquisition  of  Saragossa  in 
1802, is  particularly  deserving  of  notice, show- 
ing, as  it  does,  the  cruelty  of  the  holy  office, 
even  in  the  nineteenth  century. — "  Don  Mi- 
guel Juan  Antonio  Solano,  a  native  of  Ver- 
dun, in  Arragon,  was  vicar  of  Esco,  in  the 
diocess  of  Jaca.  His  benevolence  and  exem- 
plary conduct  endeared  him  to  his  parishion- 
ers. The  goodness  of  his  heart  combined 
with  his  inventive  talent  in  the  work  of  fer- 
tilizing a  dale,  or  rather  a  mere  ravine,  be- 
longing to  the  inhabitants  of  his  parish,  which 
lay  waste  for  the  want  of  irrigation.  With- 
out any  help  from  the  government,  and  with 
no  mechanical  means  but  the  spades  of  the 
peasants,  he  succeeded  in  diverting  the  waters 
of  a  mountain  streamlet  upon  the  slip  of 
vegetable  soil  which  had  been  deposited  in 
the  glen. 

"  A  long  and  severe  illness,  which  made 
him  a  cripple  for  life,  withdrew  the  good 


168  HISTORY    OF 

vicar  of  Esco,  from  these  active  pursu  s,  and 
limited  his  employment  to  the  perusal  of  the 
few  books  which  his  little  library  afforded. 
Providentially  the  Bible  was  one  of  them. 
Solano  read  the  records  of  revelation,  with  a 
sincere  desire  to  embrace  religious  truth  as 
he  found  it  there,  and  having  gradually 
cleared  and  arranged  his  views,  drew  up  a 
little  system  of  divinity,  which  agreed  in  the 
main  points  with  the  fundamental  tenets  of 
the  Protestant  churches.  His  conviction  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  errors  became  so  strong, 
that  he  determined  to  lay  his  book  before  the 
bishop  of  the  diocess,  asking  his  pastoral 
help  and  advice  upon  that  most  important 
subject.  An  answer  to  his  arguments  was 
promised  ;  but  despairing,  after  a  lapse  of 
time,  to  obtain  it,  Solano  applied  to  the  faculty 
of  divinity  of  the  University  of  Saragossa. 
The  reverend  doctors  sent  the  book  to  the 
Inquisition,  and  the  infirm  vicar  of  Esco  was 
lodged  in  the  prisons  of  the  holy  tribunal  of 
Saragossa  in  1802,  It  seems  that  some  hu- 
mane persons  contrived  his  escape  soon 
after,  and  conveyed  Lim  to  Oleron,  the  near- 
est French  town.  But  Solano,  having  taken 
time  to  consider  his  case,  came  to  the  heroic 
resolution  of  asserting  the  truth  in  the  very 
face  of  death ;  and  returned  of  his  own  ac- 
cord to  the  Inquisitorial  prisons. 

The  Inquisitor-general  at  that  time  was 
Arce,  archbishop  of  Santiago,  an  intimate 
^riend   of    the    Prince   of    Peace,   and    one 


THE    INQUISITION.  169 

Strongly  suspected  of  secret  infidel  y.  When 
tlie  sentence  of  the  Arragonese  tribunal,  con- 
dennjing  Solano  to  die  by  fire,  was  presented 
to  the  supreme  court  for  confirmation,  Arce, 
shocked  at  the  idea  of  an  auto-da-fe,  con- 
trived every  method  to  delay  the  execution. 
A  fresh  examination  of  witnesses  was  or- 
dered, during  which  time  the  Inquisitors  en- 
treated Solano  to  avert  his  now  imminent 
danger.  Nothing,  however,  could  move  him. 
He  said,  he  well  knew  the  death  that  awaited 
him,  but  no  human  fear  would  ever  make 
him  swerve  from  the  truth.  The  first  sen- 
tence being  confirmed,  nothing  remained  but 
the  exequatur  of  the  supreme  council.  Arce, 
however,  suspended  it,  and  ordered  an  inquiry 
into  the  mental  sanity  of  the  prisoner.  As 
nothing  appeared  to  support  this  plea,  Solano 
would  have  died  at  the  stake,  had  not  Pro- 
vidence snatched  him  from  the  hands  of  the 
papal  defenders  of  the  faith.  A  dangerous 
illness  seized  him  in  the  prison,  where  he  had 
lingered  three  years.  The  efforts  to  convert 
him  were  on  this  occasion  renewed  with  in- 
creased aroour. 

"The  Inquisitors,"  says  Llorente,  "gave 
it  in  charge  to  the  most  able  divines  of  Sara- 
gossa  to  reclaim  Solano,  and  even  requested 
Don  Miguel  Suarez  de  Santander,  auxiliary 
bishop  of  that  town,  and  apostolic  missionary, 
(now,  like  myself,  a  refugee  in  France,)  to 
exhort  him,  with  all  the  tenderness  and  good- 
ness of  a  Christian  minister,  which  are  so 
15 


170  HISTORY    OF 

natural  to  that  worthy  prelate.  The  vicai 
showed  a  grateful  sense  of  all  that  was  done 
for  him ;  but  declared  that  he  could  not  re- 
nounce his  religious  persuasion  without  of- 
fending God,  by  acting  treacherously  against 
the  truth.  On  the  twenty-first  day  of  his  ill- 
ness, the  physician  warned  him  of  approach- 
ing death,  urging  him  to  improve  the  short 
time  which  he  had  to  live.  ^  I  am  in  the 
hands  of  God,'  answered  Solano, '  and  have 
nothing  else  to  do.'  Thus  died,  in  1805,  the 
vicar  of  Esco.  He  was  denied  Christian 
burial,  and  his  body  privately  interred  within 
the  inclosure  of  the  Inquisition,  near  the  back 
gate  of  the  building,  towards  the  Ebro.  The 
Inquisitors  reported  all  that  had  taken  place 
to  the  supreme  tribunal,  whose  members 
approved  their  conduct,  and  stopt  all  further 
proceedings,  in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity 
of  burning  the  deceased  in  effigy." 

We  shall  close  this  chapter  with  the  follow- 
ing able  and  just  remarks  of  Puigblanch,  on 
the  iniquitous  procedure  of  the  holy  office. 
"  The  Inquisition,"  says  that  elegant  writer, 
"  in  its  relations  as  a  tribunal,  as  well  as  in 
the  laws  by  which  it  is  governed,  tramples  to 
the  ground  the  rights  of  the  citizen,  by  violat- 
ing in  substance  and  in  manner,  the  common 
rules  and  principles  of  justice.  A  code  sug- 
gested and  framed  by  fanaticism  and  error— 
a  want  of  learning  almost  general,  among 
the  individuals  of  whom  it  is  composed,  ac- 
*5ompar  3d   by   an    omr  geno us    faculty  of 


THE    INQUISITION.  'k7l 

committing  irregularities — together  with  the 
tyrannical  oppression  with  wliich  the  inno- 
cent man  is  therein  treated,  when  merely  in- 
dicted for  heresy,  are  all  deducible  from  the 
premises  established,  and  come  in  as  incon- 
trovertible arguments  to  prove  the  truth  of 
my  assertion.  Busied  rather  in  forming  un- 
happy victims,  than  in  extirpating  crimes, 
this  institution  has  spared  no  pains,  however 
contrary  to  reason,  and  even  to  religion,  as 
long  as  it  was  able  to  flatter  its  pride,  and 
feed  its  ferocity.  Secret  accusation  and 
calumny  encouraged  without  any  regard  to 
friendship  or  domestic  piety  ;  the  name  of 
the  Supreme  Being  invoked  with  the  greatest 
rashness,  in  order  to  wring  from  the  culprit  a 
confession,  which  must  necessarily  carry  him 
to  the  scaffold  ;  mean  cavils,  perfidious  incite- 
ments, and  even  gross  falsehood,  employed 
for  the  same  purpose,  and  with  the  same  in- 
iquity— have  all  entered  into  the  complicated 
system  of  the  Inquisition,  and  constituted  its 
chief  essence  and  delight.  Impervious  pri- 
sons, secured  with  double  bolts,  and  secluded 
from  all  communication;  refined  and  over- 
whelming torments  authorized,  and  even  ad- 
ministered with  unheard  of  cruelty,  by  judges, 
who  call  themselves  the  ministers  of  the  God 
of  peace  :  citizens,  who  had  already  paid  the 
debt  of  nature,  insulted  in  their  memory,  and 
their  mouldering  remnants  of  mortality  dug 
out  to  public  scorn  ;  whole  generations  con- 
demned to  mendicity  and  infamy,  even  be- 


172  HISTORY    OP 

fore  they  had  commenced  their  existence  ; 
blazing  piles  of  faggots,  enkindled  by  the 
breath  of  implacable  vengeance,  hidden  un- 
der the  parade  of  charity — such  have  been 
the  component  parts  which  have  formed  the 
plan,  and  such  the  deeds  of  this  formidable 
and  bloody  tribunal.  And  can  that  govern- 
ment be  called  just  and  oeneficent,  which 
suffers  the  Inquisition  to  ran^de  in  its  bosom?" 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Portuguese  "  holy  tribunal " — imprisonment  of  Dellon  in 
the  Inquisition  at  Goa — preparations  for  celebrating 
an  auto-da-fe — order  of  the  procession — Dellon's  sen- 
tence mitigated,  and  publicly  read — penances  en- 
joined upon  him  at  his  liberation. 

There  are  some  shades  of  difference  between 
the  procedure  of  the  Inquisitors  in  Spain, 
and  that  of  those  in  Portugal.  To  enume- 
rate these,  however,  would  afford  little  grati- 
fication to  the  reader.  We  shall  therefore 
now  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  the 
sufferings  of  Dellon,  a  French  gentleman, 
who  was  imprisoned  in  1673,  in  the  Inquisi- 
tion at  Goa,  a  city  in  the  East  Indies,  which 
will  throw  sufficient  light  on  the  Portuguese 
loly  tribunal. 

After  giving  a  detailed  account  of  his  suf- 
ferings, from  the  period  of  his  arrest,  on  the 
24th  August,  1673,  at  Damaui ,  till  he  ar- 


THE    INQ    ISITION.  173 

rived  at  the  Inquisition  in  Goa,  he  kjforms  us, 
that  immediately  upon  entering  the  audience 
chamber,  he  cast  himself  at  the  feet  of  the 
Inquisitor,  with  a  view  of  affecting  the  feel- 
ings of  his  judge  by  his  suppliant  attitude. 
He  was,  however,  commanded  to  rise  ;  and 
after  being  asked  his  name  and  profession, 
he  was  interrogated  if  he  knew  the  cause  of 
his  arrest,  which  he  was  exhorted  freely  to 
confess,  as  the  only  means  of  obtaining  a 
speedy  discharge.  Dellon  informed  the  In- 
quisitor, that  he  believed  he  did  know  the 
cause  of  his  imprisonment,  and  promised 
with  tears,  that  if  his  judge  would  give  him 
a  patient  hearing,  he  was  ready  to  become 
his  own  accuser.  The  Inquisitor  calmly  re- 
plied, that  there  was  no  haste,  that  he  had 
other  matters  more  important  to  attend  to 
and  that  he  would  let  him  know  when  he 
should  have  leisure  to  attend  to  his  case. 
This  finished  the  first  audience,  on  which 
Dellon  was  remanded  to  his  cell,  where  he 
was  searched,  and  every  article  of  value 
taken  from  him.  It  is  true,  that  an  exact 
inventory,  as  usual,  was  taken  of  his  pro- 
perty ;  but  this  was  merely  a  form,  nothing 
of  any  consequence  being  ever  restored, 
though  faithfully  promised  by  the  secretary 
of  the  Inquisition. 

"  Immediately  after  I  was  shut  up  in  the 

prisons  of  the  holy  office,"  he  says,  "  I  was 

informed  that  when  I  wanted  any  thing,  I 

nad  only  to  knock  gently  at  the  door,  and  the 

15* 


174  HISTORY    OF 

guards  would  attend,  or  to  ask  for  it  when 
my  meals  were  served  ;  and  that  if  I  wished 
for  an  audience,  I  was  to  address  the  alcalde, 
who,  as  well  as  the  guards,  never  speaks  to 
the  prisoners  without  a  witness.  I  was  also 
taught  to  believe  that  my  liberation  would  be 
the  consequence  of  confession,  which  caused 
me  to  importune  those  officers  to  take  me 
before  my  judges." 

This  favour,  however,  notwithstanding  all 
his  entreaties,  was  not  granted  till  the  31st 
of  January,  1674.  On  that  day,  he  was  de- 
sired by  the  alcalde  to  follow  him  to  the  cham- 
ber of  audience.  He  immediately  obeyed, 
and  having  entered  the  presence  of  his  judge, 
he  fell  on  his  knees,  with  the  view  of  touch- 
ing him  with  compassion.  But  without 
deigning  to  take  the  smallest  notice  of  his 
grief,  he  was  ordered  to  sit  down  on  a  bench 
at  the  end  of  the  table  next  the  Inquisitor. 
Here  he  was  first  ordered  to  swear  to  declare 
the  truth,  and  preserve  secrecy,  and  then 
asked  if  he  knew  the  cause  ot  his  imprison- 
ment, and  had  resolved  to  confess  the  truth. 
Having  intimated  that  he  was  ready  to  do 
so,  he  minutely  detailed  the  particulars  of 
several  conversations  in  which  he  had  enga- 
ged respecting  baptism  and  the  worship  of 
images,  but  concealing  that  he  had  advanced 
something  concerning  the  Inquisition,  which 
at  that  moment,  he  says,  he  did  not  recollect. 
The  Inquisitor  then  asked  him,  if  he  had  any 
.hing  further  to  say  ;  and  being  ans'vered  in 


THE    INQUISITION.  175 

the  negative,  he  terminated  the  audience  by 
addressing  Dellon  in  the  following  words 
"  You  have  very  properly  resolved  to  become 
your  own  accuser  ;  and  I  conjure  you  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  fully  to  con- 
fess all  that  you  know ;  that  you  may  expe- 
rience the  goodness  and  mercy  extended  by 
this  tribunal  towards  those  who  appear  to  be 
truly  sorry  for  their  offences,  by  making  a 
sincere  and  voluntary  acknowledgment." 

Dellon's  next  audience  took  place  on  the 
15th  of  February,  when  he  was  interrogated 
anew,  if  he  had  any  thing  further  to  say,  and 
exhorted  to  conceal  nothing,  but  candidly  to 
confess  all  his  crimes.  He  replied,  that  after 
the  closest  consideration,  he  could  recollect 
nothing  more  than  what  he  had  already  de- 
clared. The  Inquisitor  then  asked  the  names 
of  his  relatives  ;  whether  he  was  baptized 
the  eighth  day  after  his  birth ;  by  whom  he 
was  baptized;  and  finally,  if  he  had  been 
confirmed,  and  by  what  bishop.  Having  re- 
turned answers  to  all  these  inquiries,  he  was 
ordered  to  kneel  down,  to  make  the  sign  of 
the  cross,  to  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the 
Ave  Maria,  the  Creed,  the  commandments, 
&c.,  when  the  audience  concluded,  as  for- 
merly, with  a  conjuration,  "  by  the  bowels  of 
the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  to  make 
immediate  confession. 

"From  the  beginning  of  my  confinement," 
says  he,  "  I  had  been  greatly  distressed,  and 
had  wept  incessantly ;  but  ou  returning  from 


176  HISTORY    OF 

this  audience,  I  entirely  abandoned  myse.f 
to  grief,  being  convinced  that  what  was  re- 
quired of  me  was  impossible,  as  my  memory 
did  not  furnish  what  I  was  solicited  to  avow. 
I  attempted  to  put  an  end  to  my  existence, 
by  fasting.  I  received,  indeed,  the  food 
which  was  brought  to  me,  because  I  could 
not  refuse  it,  without  being  liable  to  be  beaten 
by  the  guards,  who  carefully  notice,  when 
the  dishes  are  returned,  whether  sufficient 
nourishment  has  been  taken  ;  but  my  despair 
enabled  me  to  deceive  all  their  caution,  and  I 
passed  several  days  without  tasting  any  thing. 
This  extreme  fasting  deprived  me  of  rest, 
and  my  sole  employment  was  to  weep.  At 
length,  having  made  a  more  particular,  or 
rather  more  happy  recollection  of  what  I 
had  said  or  done,  during  my  residence  at 
Damaun,  I  remembered  that  I  had  used 
several  expressions  respecting  the  integrity 
of  the  Inquisition.  I  immediately  demanded 
audience,  which,  however,  I  did  not  obtain 
until  the  16th  of  March. 

"  When  summoned,  I  had  no  doubt  that 
my  business  would  be  dismissed  the  same 
day,  and  that  after  the  confession  I  was  pre- 
pared  to  make,  I  should  be  discharged  br 
at  the  very  moment  that  I  fancied  I  was  on 
the  accomplishment  of  all  my  wishes,  I  sud- 
denly found  these  delightful  hopes  destroyed  ; 
for  having  detailed  every  thing  I  had  said 
about  the  Inquisition,  I  was  coolly  informed, 
that  that  was  not  what  was  expected  ;  and 


THE    INQUISITION.  177 

having  nothing  more  to  communicate,  I  was 
instantly  remanded,  without  even  taking  my 
confession  in  writing." 

Dellon  now  regarded  Hberty  as  a  blessing 
which  he  could  never  hope  to  enjoy ;  and 
abandoning  himself  to  despair,  he  twice  at- 
tempted to  put  an  end  to  his  sufferings  by 
committing  suicide.  In  his  endeavours  to 
effect  his  purpose,  he  was,  however,  provi- 
dentially frustrated  by  the  appearance  of  his 
keepers  while  he  lay  in  his  cell  weltering  in 
his  blood.  But,  instead  of  exciting  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  Inquisitors,  these  guardians  of 
the  faith  ordered  him  to  be  loaded  with 
irons.  This  tended  still  further  to  increase 
his  irritation ;  and  throwing  himself  on  the 
ground,  and  dashing  his  head  against  the 
pavement,  he  would  soon  have  destroyed 
himself,  had  he  not  been  watched  by  his 
keepers. 

Perceiving  that  in  the  present  case  all 
measures  of  severity  were  unavailable,  the 
Inquisitors  changed  their  mode  of  procedure. 
They  ordered  his  irons  to  be  taken  off;  made 
large  promises  of  a  speedy  deliverance  from 
confinement,  changed  his  cell,  and  gave  him 
a  companion,  who  was  made  responsible  for 
his  safety. 

After  lying  eighteen  months  in  the  prisons 
of  the  holy  office,  the  Inquisitors,  being  in- 
formed that  Dellon  was  able  to  appear, 
again  brought  him  before  their  tribunal. 
Having   asked   him   if  he   had  resolved  to 


i78  HISTORY    OF 

declare  what  was  required;  and  on  his  re- 
plying that  he  could  not  recollect  any  thing 
further  than  what  he  had  already  confessed, 
the  proctor  of  the  Inquisition  presented  him 
self  with  the  informations  laid  against  him. 
He  had  formerly  been  called  to  accuse  him- 
self; but,  on  this  occasion,  he  was  formally 
impeached,  and  a  time  was  allotted  for 
making  his  defence ;  his  own  confessions 
being  included  in  the  depositions. 

On  reading  the  informations,  the  proctor 
stated,  that,  in  addition  to  what  he  had  ad- 
mitted, he  was  accused  and  fully  convicted 
of  having  spoken  contemptuously  of  the  In- 
quisition and  its  officers,  and  even  with  dis- 
respect of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  and  against 
his  authority  ;  and  concluded,  "  that  the  con- 
tumacy which  he  had  hitherto  displayed,  by 
neglecting  so  many  delays  and  benignant 
warnings  which  had  been  given  to  him,  was 
a  convincing  proof  that  he  had  entertained 
the  most  pernicious  intentions,  and  that  his 
design  was  to  teach  and  inculcate  heretical 
opinions ;  that  he  had  consequently  incurred 
the  penalty  of  the  greater  excommunication  : 
that  his  property  was  confiscated  to  the 
crown,  and  himself  delivered  over  to  the 
secular  power,  to  be  punished  for  his  crimes 
according  to  law ;"  that  is,  to  be  burnt. 

Dellon  was  confounded  at  these  denuncia- 
tions:  but,  conscious  of  his  innocence,  he 
made  a  spirited  reply  to  the  fresh  charges 
which  were  brought  against  him.     He  ac- 


THE    INQUISITION.  179 

knowledged  that  he  had  expressed  himself 
too  freely  respecting  the  Inquisition,  but  was 
surprised  to  find  that  what  had  been  so 
slightly  treated  when  he  acknowledged  it  a 
year  and  a  half  before,  should  now  be  attri- 
buted to  him  as  a  grievous  crime.  As  to 
what  related  to  the  Pope,  Dellon  declared 
that  he  did  not  recollect  of  ever  having  men- 
tioned his  name  in  the  manner  stated  in  the 
accusation ;  but,  he  added,  if  the  Inquisitors 
would  detail  the  particulars,  he  would  speak 
honestly  and  truly  to  the  charge.  To  all  this 
the  Inquisitor  coolly  replied,  that  he  should 
have  full  time  allowed  him  for  considering 
the  article  which  related  to  the  Roman 
Pontiff. 

In  less  than  a  month  afterwards,  Dellon 
was  summoned  to  three  or  four  audiences, 
with  the  view  of  inducing  him  to  confess 
what  he  had  been  accused  of  respecting  the 
Pope ;  but  all  proved  of  no  avail.  As  he 
now  heard  every  morning  the  cries  of  those 
who  were  subjected  to  the  torture,  he  began 
to  fear  that  he  should  soon  be  treated  with 
the  same  severity.  But  in  this  he  was  hap- 
pily disappointed,  by  the  celebration  of  an 
auto-da-fe,  at  which  he  was  condemned  to 
undergo  various  penances,  and  to  banish- 
ment from  the  Indies.  The  following  ac- 
count of  the  Act  of  Faith,  at  which  Dellon 
was  an  actor,  is  given  in  nearly  his  own 
words. 

"  I  remembered,"  says  he,  "  that   I   had 


180  HISTORY    OP 

heard  it  mentioned  before  I  entered  the 
prisons  of  the  Holy  Office,  that  the  auto-da-fe 
was  usually  celebrated  on  the  first  Sunday 
in  Advent,  because,  in  the  service  for  that 
day  is  read  a  portion  of  the  gospel  which 
describes  the  day  of  judgment ;  and  the  In- 
quisitors affect  that  this  ceremony  is  its  lively 
and  natural  prototype.  I  was  also  confident 
that  there  were  several  prisoners ;  the  dead 
silence  which  reigns  in  this  mansion  having 
aftbrded  me  opportunity  to  ascertain,  with 
tolerable  exactness,  how  many  doors  were 
opened  at  the  hours  of  repast.  In  addition 
to  this,  I  was  almost  certain  that  an  arch- 
bishop had  arrived  in  the  month  of  October, 
(the  see  having  been  vacant  nearly  thirty 
years,)  from  the  extraordinary  ringing  of  the 
bells  of  the  cathedral  for  nine  days  succes- 
sively ;  to  which  period,  it  is  neither  the  cus- 
tom of  the  churches  in  general,  nor  of  that  of 
Goa  in  particular,  to  extend  the  solemniza- 
tion of  any  remarkable  feast;  and  I  knew 
that  this  prelate  had  been  expected  before 
my  imprisonment.  From  all  these  reasons 
I  inferred  that  I  should  be  released  in  the  be- 
ginning of  December ;  but  when  I  saw  the 
first  and  the  second  Sundays  in  Advent  pass. 
I  began  to  fear  that  my  liberation  or  punish- 
ment was  postponed  for  another  year. — 
Nevertheless  I  found,  at  a  time  when  I  least 
expected  it,  that  I  was  likely  to  be  set  at 
liberty. 

«1  remarked,  that  on  Saturday,  the  11th 


THE      NQUISnrON.  181 

of  January,  1676,  as  I  gave  my  linen  as 
usual  to  be  washed,  the  officers  decUned 
taking  it  till  the  next  day.  On  reflecting 
upon  this  unusual  circumstance,  and  not 
beuig  able  satisfactorily  to  account  for  it,  1 
concluded  that  the  celebration  of  the  auto-da- 
fe  might  take  place  on  the  morrow ;  and  my 
opinion  was  the  more  confirmed,  or  rather 
converted  into  certainty,  when  immediately 
after  vespers  had  chimed  at  the  cathedral, 
the  bell  rang  for  matins,  which  had  never 
happened  before  during  my  imprisonment, 
except  on  the  eve  of  the  feast  of  the  holy 
sacrament.  It  may  be  supposed  that  joy 
would  have  begun  to  resume  its  place  in  my 
heart,  when  I  believed  that  I  was  on  the 
point  of  leaving  the  tomb  in  which  I  had 
been  buried  alive  for  two  years ;  but  the  ter- 
ror which  was  occasioned  by  the  dreadful 
denunciations  of  the  proctor,  and  the  uncer- 
tainty of  my  fate,  augmented  my  anxiety  and 
grief  to  such  a  degree,  that  I  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day  and  part  of  the  night 
under  feelings  which  would  have  excited 
compassion  in  any  but  those  into  whose 
hands  I  had  fallen. 

"  About  midnight  1  was  awoke  by  a  noise 
occasioned  by  the  guards  in  drawing  back 
the  bolts  of  my  cell.  I  was  surprised  by  the 
approach  of  persons  bearing  lights,  to  which 
1  was  unaccustomed,  and  the  hour  contri- 
buted to  increase  my  alarm.  The  alcalde 
gave  me  a  garment,  which  he  ordered  me  to 
16 


182  HISTORY    OF 

put  on,  and  to  be  ready  to  fo  low  him  when 
he  should  call  for  me;  and  then  retired, 
leaving  me  a  Ughted  lamp.  I  had  neither 
power  to  rise  nor  to  reply;  and  when  left 
alone,  I  was  seized  with  so  general  and  vio- 
lent a  trepidation,  that,  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  I  could  not  summon  re- 
solution even  to  look  upon  the  dress  which 
had  been  brought.  At  last  I  arose,  and  pros- 
trating myself  before  a  cross  which  I  had 
scrawled  upon  the  wall,  I  recommended  my- 
self to  God,  and  resigned  my  lot  into  his 
hands :  I  then  put  on  the  dress,  which  con- 
sisted of  a  jacket  with  sleeves  down  to  the 
wrists,  and  trowsers  hanging  over  the  heels; 
both  being  of  black  stuff  with  white  stripes. 

"  I  had  not  long  to  wait  after  I  had  dressed 
myself  The  gentleman  whose  first  visit  was 
made  a  little  before  midnight,  returned  about 
two  in  the  morning,  and  conducted  me  into 
a  long  gallery,  where  a  great  number  of  my 
companions  in  misery  were  already  assem- 
bled, and  arranged  against  the  wall.  I  took 
my  place  in  the  rank,  and  many  others  ar- 
rived after  me.  Although  there  were  nearly 
two  hundred  men  in  the  gallery,  every  one 
preserved  profound  silence ;  as  in  this  great 
number,  there  were  only  about  a  dozen 
whites,  who  were  scarcely  to  be  distinguished 
amongst  the  others ;  and  as  all  were  habited 
in  black,  these  persons  might  have  been  mis- 
taken for  so  many  s\i  tues  placed  upon  the 
wall,  if  tKe  motior   ^f  their  eyes,  the  use  of 


THE    INQUISITION.  183 

wliicli  alone  was  allowed  thern,  \.  /id  not 
shown  that  they  were  alive.  The  place  in 
which  we  were  was  lighted  by  a  few  lamps, 
whose  gloomy  rays  displaying  so  many 
black,  sad,  and  devoted  objects,  seemed  an 
appropriate  prelude  to  death. 

"  The  women,  who  were  apparelled  in  the 
same  stuti'  as  the  men,  were  in  an  adjoining 
gallery,  where  we  could  not  see  them  ;  but  I 
observed  that,  in  a  dormitory,  at  a  little  dis- 
tance from  that  in  which  we  stood,  there 
were  also  several  prisoners,  and  some  persons 
clothed  in  black  dresses,  who  occasionally 
walked  about  the  apartment.  I  did  not  then 
know  what  this  meant,  but  a  few  hours  after 
I  learnt  that  the  persons  in  that  apartment 
were  condemned  to  be  burnt,  and  that  those 
who  walked  were  their  confessors. 

"  Being  unacquainted  with  the  forms  of 
the  Holy  Office,  although  I  had  before  so 
anxiously  wished  to  die,  I  imagined  that  I 
was  amongst  the  number  of  the  condemned ; 
but  was  somewhat  encouraged  by  the  obser- 
vation, that  there  was  nothing  in  my  habili- 
ments difl'erent  from  the  rest,  and  that  it  was 
improbable  that  so  many  persons  as  were 
dressed  like  myself  would  be  put  to  death. 

"  When  we  were  all  arranged  against  the 
wall  of  the  ga.lery,  a  yellow  wax-light  was 
given  to  each ;  and  some  bundles  of  robes 
made  like  dalmatics  or  large  scapularies, 
were  brought  in.  These  were  made  of  yel- 
low stutf,  with  crosses  of  St.  Andrew  painted 


184  HISTORY    OF 

in  red  both  in  front  and  behind.  It  is  thus 
that  those  are  distinguished  who  have  com- 
mitted, or  are  judged  to  have  committed 
oflences  against  the  Christian  faith,  whether 
Jews,  Mahometans,  sorcerers,  or  heretic  apos- 
tates. These  vestments  are  called  sanbenito. 
"  Such  as  are  considered  as  convicted,  and 
persist  in  denying  the  charges  against  them, 
and  those  who  have  relapsed,  wear  another 
kind  of  scapulary  called  samarra,  the  ground 
of  which  is  of  a  grey  colour.  A  portrait  of 
the  wearer  is  depicted  on  both  sides,  placed 
on  burning  firebrands,  with  ascending  flames, 
and  surrounded  by  demons.  Their  names 
and  crimes  are  inscribed  beneath  the  picture. 
Those  who  have  confessed  after  sentence  has 
been  pronounced,  and  before  leaving  the 
prison,  have  the  flames  on  their  samarras  re- 
versed, which  is  called  fogo  revolt o.  The 
sanbenitos  were  distributed  to  twenty  blacks 
accused  of  magic,  to  one  Portuguese  who  was 
charged  with  the  same  crime,  and  was  more- 
over a  new  Christian  ;  and,  as  half  measures 
would  not  satisfy  the  revenge  of  my  perse- 
cutors, who  were  resolved  to  degrade  me  as 
much  as  possible,  I  was  compelled  to  wear 
a  garb  similar  to  those  of  the  sorcerers  and 
heretics,  although  I  had  uniformly  professed 
the  Catholic,  Apostolic,  and  Roman  faith,  as 
my  judges  might  have  been  easily  informed 
by  many  persons,  both  foreigners  and  my 
own  count  ymen,  to  whom  I  had  been  known 
ii   variou''  parts  of  India.     My  apprehension 


THE    INQUISIT  ON  185 

now  redoubled ;  conceiving  that  if,  amongst 
so  great  a  number  of  prisoners,  twent]^-t\vo 
only  received  these  disgraceful  sanbenitos, 
they  must  be  those  to  whom  no  mercy  was 
intended. 

"  When  this  distribution  was  made,  I 
noticed  five  pasteboard  caps,  tapering  to  a 
point  hke  a  sugar  loaf,  and  entirely  covered 
with  devils  and  flames  of  fire,  with  the  word 
"  Feiticero,^^  (sorcerer)  written  round  the  fil- 
let. These  caps  are  called  carochas,  and 
are  placed  upon  the  heads  of  the  most  guilty 
of  those  accused  of  magic  :  and  as  they  hap- 
pened to  be  near  me,  I  expected  to  be  pre- 
sented with  one.  This,  however,  was  not 
the  case.  From  that  moment  I  had  no  doubt 
that  these  wretches  would  indeed  be  burnt ; 
and  as  they  were  as  ignorant  as  myself  of  the 
forms  of  the  holy  office,  they  assured  me 
afterwards,  that  they  themselves  had  also 
thought  their  destruction  inevitable. 

"  At  length  the  day  dawned  about  five 
o'clock  ;  and  the  various  emotions  of  shame, 
grief,  and  terror  with  which  all  were  agitat- 
ed, might  be  traced  in  our  countenance  ;  for 
though  each  was  joyful  at  the  prospect  of 
deliverance  from  a  captivity  so  severe  and 
insupportable,  the  sentiment  was  much  alloy- 
ed by  the  uncertainty  of  his  fate. 

"  The  great  bell  of  the  cathedal  tolled  a 
little  before  sunrise,  as  a  signal  to  the  multi- 
tude to  assemble  for  the  august  solemnity  of 
the  auto-da-fe,  which  is  the  triumph  of  the 
16  * 


186  HISTORY    OF 

holy  office  ;  and  we  were  then  commanded 
to  go  forth  one  by  one.  When  I  got  into  the 
street,  I  saw  that  the  procession  was  headed 
by  the  community  of  the  Dominicans,  who 
have  this  privilege,  because  St.  Dominic,  their 
patron,  was  also  the  founder  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion. They  were  preceded  by  the  banner  of 
the  holy  office,  in  which  the  image  of  the 
founder  was  represented  in  very  rich  em- 
broidery, with  a  sword  in  one  hand  and  an 
olive  branch  in  the  other,  with  the  inscription, 
'  Justitia  et  Miser icordia.^ 

"These  Religious  were  followed  by  the 
prisoners  singly,  each  holding  a  taper,  and 
having  his  godfather  by  his  side.  The  least 
guilty  marched  first,  and,  as  I  was  not  reck- 
oned as  one  of  the  most  innocent,  more  than 
a  hundred  went  before  me-  Like  the  rest, 
my  head  and  feet  were  bare,  and  I  was 
greatly  annoyed  during  the  procession,  which 
continued  upwards  of  an  hour,  by  the  small 
flints  with  which  the  streets  of  Goa  are 
covered,  causing  the  blood  to  stream  from 
my  feet. 

"  We  were  led  through  the  principal 
streets,  and  every  where  regarded  by  an 
immense  crowd,  which  came  from  all  parts 
of  India,  and  lined  all  the  roads  by  which 
we  passed  ;  notice  having  been  given  from 
the  pulpit  in  the  most  distant  parishes,  long 
before  the  act  of  faith  was  to  be  celebrated. 

"  At  length,  overwhelmed  with  shame  and 
I  nfiL'ion,  and  fatigued  by  the  walk,  we  ar- 


THE    INQUISITION.  187 

rived  at  the  church  of  St.  Francis,  which  had 
been  previously  fitted  up  for  the  celebration 
of  the  auto-da-fe.  So  soon  as  I  was  seated, 
I  attended  to  the  procedure  observed  as  to 
those  who  followed  me.  I  remarked  that 
those  to  whom  the  horrible  carochas  had 
been  given,  marched  the  last  of  our  party, 
and  immediately  after  them  a  large  crucifix 
was  carried,  with  the  face  towards  those 
who  preceded  it,  and  was  followed  by  two 
persons  and  the  statues  of  four  others,  as 
large  as  life,  accurately  executed,  and  which 
were  placed  upon  long  poles,  accompanied 
by  the  same  number  of  chests  filled  with  the 
bones  of  those  represented  by  the  statues, 
and  each  carried  by  a  man.  The  front  of 
the  crucifix  being  turned  upon  those  who 
walked  before,  signified  that  mercy  had 
been  extended  to  them,  by  their  deliverance 
from  the  death  they  had  justly  merited ;  and, 
on  the  contrary,  that  those  behind  had  no 
favour  to  hope  for.  Such  is  the  mystery 
which  pervades  every  thing  in  the  holy 
office. 

"  The  manner  in  which  these  wretches 
were  clothed,  was  equally  calculated  to  ex- 
cite horror  and  pity.  Not  only  the  living 
persons,  but  the  statues  also,  had  each  a 
samarra  of  grey  stuff,  painted  all  over  with 
devils,  flames,  and  burning  firebrands;  upon 
which  the  portrait  of  the  wearer  was  natu- 
rally represented  on  both  sides,  with  his  sen- 
tence undervj  ritten  in  1  rge  characters,  brief- 


188  HISTORY    OF 

\y  stating  his  name  and  country,  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  crime  for  which  he  was  con- 
demned. With  this  straLge  garme.it,  they 
also  wore  those  frightful  carochas,  covered, 
like  the  robe,  with  demons  and  fire. 

"  The  Utile  chests  which  inclosed  the  bones 
of  the  deceased,  the  proceedings  against 
whom  had  been  conducted  either  before  or 
after  their  deaths,  or  prior  to,  or  pending 
their  imprisonment,  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
colour  to  the  confiscation  of  their  property, 
were  also  painted  black,  and  covered  -with 
flames  and  devils. 

"  As  the  publication  of  the  proceedings 
against  each  party  commenced,  he  was  con- 
ducted by  the  alcalde  into  the  middle  of  the 
aisle,  where  he  continued  standing  with  a 
lighted  taper  in  his  hand,  until  his  sentence 
was  delivered.  I  was  summoned,  in  my 
turn,  and  was  declared  excommunicate  ;  my 
goods  were  forfeited  to  the  king,  and  myself 
banished  from  the  Indies,  and  condemned  to 
serve  in  the  galleys  of  Portugal  for  five 
years ;  and  moreover  to  perform  such  other 
penances,  as  might  be  expressly  enjoined  by 
the  Inquisitors. 

"  The  ceremony  being  concluded,  and  the 
Inquisitor  re-seated,  the  wretched  victims  to 
be  sacrificed  by  the  holy  Inquisition  were 
ordered  to  advance  separately.  There  were 
a  man  and  a  woman,  and  the  images  of  four 
men  deceased,  with  the  chests  in  which  their 
bones  were  deposited.     The  man  and  woman 


THE    INQUISITION.  189 

were  black  native  Christians  accused  of  ma- 
gic, and  condemned  as  apostates ;  but,  in 
truth,  as  Uttle  sorcerers  as  those  by  whom 
they  were  condemned. 

"  The  proceedings  against  these  unfortu- 
nates were  then  read,  all  of  which  concluded 
in  these  terms :  <  That  the  mercy  of  the  holy 
office  being  prevented  by  their  relapse  or 
contumacy,  and  being  indispensably  obliged 
to  punish  them  according  to  the  rigour  of  the 
law,  it  gave  them  up  to  the  secular  power 
and  civil  justice,  which  it  nevertheless  en- 
treated to  regard  with  mercy  and  clemency 
these  miserable  creatures,  and  if  they  were 
liable  to  capital  punishment,  that  it  should  be 
inflicted  without  the  effusion  of  blood.' 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  these  words,  a  tip- 
staff" of  the  lay  court  approached,  and  seiz- 
ed his  victims,  each  previously  receiving  a 
slight  blow  on  the  breast  from  the  alcalde  of 
the  holy  office,  to  testify  that  they  were 
abandoned. 

"  How  benevolent  is  the  Inquisition  thus 
to  intercede  for  the  guilty  !  What  extreme 
condescension  in  the  magistrates,  to  be  satis- 
fied, from  complaisance  to  the  Inquisition, 
with  burning  the  culprits  to  the  very  mar- 
row of  their  bones,  rather  than  shed  their 
blood  ! 

"  Thus  terminated  the  act  of  faith ;  and 
whilst  these  wretches  were  conveyed  to  the 
banks  of  the  river,  where  the  viceroy  and  his 
court  were  assembled,  and  where  the  faggots 


190  HISTORY    OP 

on  which  they  were  to  be  immolated  had 
been  piled  the  preceding  day,  we  were  re 
conducted  to  the  holy  office. 

"  After  remaining  in  the  Inquisition  v.ntil 
the  23d  of  January,  we  were  then  conveyed 
to  the  hall  of  the  court,  and  thence  separately 
summoned  to  the  board  of  the  holy  office,  tc 
receive  from  the  Inquisitor  a  paper  contain- 
ing the  penances  to  which  he  was  pleased  to 
sentence  us.  I  went  in  my  turn,  and  was 
directed  to  kneel  down,  after  laying  my 
hands  upon  the  gospels,  and  in  that  posture 
to  promise  to  preserve  the  most  inviolable 
secrecy  concerning  all  that  had  passed,  and 
had  come  to  my  knowledge  during  my  de- 
tention. My  judge  then  gave  me  a  writing 
signed  by  his  hand,  in  the  words  folio wmg: 
1st.  In  the  three  ensuing  years  he  shall  con- 
fess and  communicate— during  the  first  year, 
once  a  month — and  the  two  following,  at  the 
feasts  of  Easter,  Whitsuntide,  Christmas,  and 
the  Assumption  of  our  Lady.  2d.  He  shall, 
if  practicable,  hear  mass  and  a  sermon  every 
Sunday  and  holiday.  3d.  During  the  first 
three  years  he  shall  repeat,  five  times  every 
day,  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Ave  Maria,  in 
honour  of  the  five  wounds  of  our  Saviour. 
4th.  He  shall  not  form  any  friendship  nor 
particular  intimacy  with  heretics  or  persons 
holding  suspicious  doctrines,  which  may  pre- 
judice his  salvation.  5th.  And  lastly,  he 
shall  be  inflexibly  reserved  as  to  every  thing 
which  he  has  seen,  said,  or  heard,  or  the 


THE    INQUISITION.  191 

treatment  which  has  been  observed  to  him, 


as  well  at  tlie  board  as  in  tlie  otiier  places  of 
tlie  holy  olhce." 

Such  is  a  specimen  of  the  practice  of  the 
Portuguese  Inquisition,  of  which  some  fur- 
ther account  will  be  given  in  the  following 
chapter,  from  the  late  visit  of  Dr.  Buchanan 
to  Goa.  The  celebration  of  an  act  of  faith 
m  India,  thus  described  by  Dellon,  is,  as 
must  have  been  observed  by  the  reader,  in 
some  respects  different  from  that  in  Spain  ; 
but  though  the  procedure  of  the  holy  office 
in  these  countries  may  vary  in  some  points 
of  little  moment,  yet  all  the  Inquisitorial  tri- 
bunals uniformly  agree  in  this,  to  sacrifice 
innocence,  piety,  and  truth,  to  avarice,  ty- 
ranny, and  superstition. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Inquisition  at  Goa  has  made  little  improvement 
since  the  time  of  Dellon — extracts  from  Dr.  Bu- 
chanan's Christian  Researches  in  Asia — he  visits 
Goa — becomes  acquainted  with  the  Inquisitor— visits 
the  Inquisition — he  pleads,  in  vain,  to  see  the  dun- 
geons and  the  captives — his  remarks  on  the  efforts 
wliich  ought  to  be  made  by  Britain  to  abolish  so 
odious  a  tribunal — true  picture  of  the  Inquisition  by 
several  writers— conclusion. 

Little  alteration  has  taken  place  in  the  In- 
quisition at  Goa,  since  the  period  of  Dellon's 
imprisonment.     Tliis  will  appear  from  the 


192  HISTORY    OF 

following  account  of  that  tribunal  which  is 
given  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Buchanan,  so  lately 
as  1808,  in  his  "  Christian  Researches  in 
Asia."  The  objects  of  the  Rev.  Doctor  in 
visiting  Goa  were,  "  1st.  To  ascertain  whe- 
ther the  Inquisition  actually  refused  to  recog- 
nize the  Bible  among  the  Romish  churches 
in  British  India.  2dly.  To  inquire  into  the 
state  and  jurisdiction  of  the  Inquisition,  par- 
ticularly as  it  affected  British  subjects.  3dly. 
To  learn  what  was  the  system  of  education 
for  the  priesthood ;  and,  4thly.  To  examine 
the  ancient  church  libraries  in  Goa,  which 
were  said  to  contain  all  the  books  of  the  first 
printing." 

«  On  my  arrival  at  Goa,  (says  he,  under 
date  January  23,  1808,)  I  was  received  into 
the  house  of  Captain  Schuyler,  the  British 
resident.  The  British  force  here  is  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Adams,  of  the  78th  Re- 
giment, with  whom  I  was  formerly  well 
acquainted  in  Bengal.*  Next  day  I  was 
introduced  by  these  gentlemen  to  the  vice- 
roy of  Goa,  the  Count  de  Cabral.  I  intimated 
to  his  excellency  my  wish  to  sail  up  the 
river  to  Old  Goa,t  where  the  Inquisition  is, 

*  The  forts  in  the  harbour  of  Goa  were  then  occu- 
pied by  British  troops,  to  prevent  its  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  French. 

j-  There  is  Old  and  New  Goa.  The  old  city  is  about 
eight  miles  up  the  river.  The  viceroy  and  the  Chief 
Portuguese  inhabitants  reside  at  New  Goa,  which  is  a* 


THE    INQllIsniON.  193 

to  which  he  pohtely  acceded.  Maj  i  Pa- 
reira,  of  the  Portuguese  estabhshment,  who 
was  present,  and  to  whom  I  had  letters  of 
introduction  from  Bengal,  offered  to  accom- 
pany me  to  the  city,  and  to  introduce  me  to 
the  archbishop  of  Goa,  the  primate  of  the 
Orient. 

I  had  communicated  to  Colonel  Adams, 
and  to  the  British  resident,  my  purpose  of 
inquiring  into  the  state  of  the  Inquisition. 
These  gentlemen  informed  me,  that  I  should 
not  be  able  to  accomplish  my  design  without 
difficulty ;  seeing  every  thing  relating  to  the 
Inquisition  was  conducted  in  a  very  secret 
manner,  the  most  respectable  of  the  lay  Por- 
tuguese themselves  being  ignorant  of  its 
proceedings  ;  and  that,  if  the  priests  were  to 
discover  my  object,  their  excessive  jealousy 
and  alarm  would  prevent  their  communicat- 
ing with  me,  or  satisfying  my  inquiries  on 
any  subject.  On  receiving  this  intelligence, 
I  perceived  that  it  would  be  necessary  to 
proceed  with  caution.  I  was,  in  fact,  about 
to  visit  a  republic  of  priests,  whose  dominion 
had  existed  for  nearly  three  centuries, — 
whose  province  it  was  to  prosecute  heretics, 


the  mouth  of  the  river,  within  the  forts  of  the  harbour. 
The  old  city,  where  the  Inquisition  and  the  churches 
are,  is  now  almost  entirely  deserted  by  the  secular 
Portuguese,  and  is  inhabited  by  the  priests  alone.  The 
unhealthiness  of  the  place,  and  the  ascendency  of  the 
priests,  are  the  causes  assigned  for  abandoning  the  an- 
cient city. 

17 


194  HISTORY    OP 

and  parties  .larly  the  teachers  of  heresy, — and 
from  whose  authority  and  sentence  there  was 
no  appeal  in  India.* 

It  happened  that  Lieutenant  Kempthorne, 
commander  of  his  Majesty's  Brig  Diana,  a 
distant  connection  of  my  own,  was  at  that 
time  in  the  harbour.  On  his  learning  that  I 
meant  to  visit  Old  Goa,  he  offered  to  accom- 
pany me  ;  as  did  Captain  Sterling,  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's 8th  Regiment. 

We  proceeded  up  the  river  in  the  British 
resident's  barge,  accompanied  by  Major  Pa- 
reira,  who  was  well  qualified,  by  a  thirty 
years'  residence,  to  give  information  concern- 
ing local  circumstances.  From  him  I  learned 
that  there  were  upwards  of  two  hundred 
churches  and  chapels  in  the  province  of  Goa, 
and  upwards  of  two  thousand  priests. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  city,  it  was  past 
twelve  o'clock :  all  the  churches  were  shut, 
and  we  were  told  that  they  would  not  be 
opened  again  until  two  o'clock.  I  mentioned 
to  Major  Pareira,  that  I  intended  to  stay  at 
Old  Goa  some  days ;  and  that  I  should  be 
obliged  to  him  to  find  me  a  place  to  sleep  in. 
He  seemed  surprised  at  this  intimation,  and 

*  Even  the  viceroy  of  Goa  himself  has  no  authority 
over  the  Inquisition,  nay,  is  liable  to  its  censures.  Were 
the  British  government,  for  instance,  to  prefer  a  com- 
plaint against  the  Inquisition  to  the  Portuguese  govern- 
ment at  Goa,  it  could  obtain  no  redress.  By  the  very 
constitution  of  the  Inquisition,  there  is  no  power  in 
India  which  can  invade  its  jurisdicion,  or  even  put  a 
qu^  tion  to  it  on  any  subject 


THE    INQUISITION.  195 

observed  that  it  would  be  difficult  for  me  to 
obtain  reception  in  any  of  the  cliurches  or  con- 
vents, and  that  there  were  no  private  houses 
into  which  I  could  be  admitted.  I  said  I 
coufd  sleep  any  where ;  I  had  two  servants 
with  me  and  a.  travelling  bed.  When  he 
perceived  that  I  was  serious  in  my  purpose, 
he  gave  directions  to  a  civil  officer  in  that 
place,  to  clear  out  a  room  in  a  building  which 
had  been  long  uninhabited,  and  which  was 
then  used  as  a  warehouse  for  goods.  Mat- 
ters at  this  time  presented  a  very  gloomy 
appearance ;  and  I  had  thoughts  of  returning 
with  my  companions  from  this  inhospitable 
place.  In  the  meantime  we  sat  down  in  the 
room  I  have  just  mentioned,  to  take  some 
refreshment,  while  Major  Pareira  went  to 
call  on  some  of  his  friends.  During  this  in- 
terval I  communicated  to  Lieutenant  Kemp- 
Ihorne  the  object  of  my  visit.  I  had  in  my 
pocket  Dellon's  account  of  the  Inquisition  at 
Goa;  and  I  mentioned  some  particulars. 
While  we  were  conversing  on  the  subject, 
the  great  bell  began  to  toll ;  the  same  which 
Dellon  observes  always  tolls,  before  daylight 
on  the  morning  of  the  auto-da-fe.  I  did  not 
myself  ask  any  questions  of  the  people  con- 
cerning the  Inquisition ;  but  Mr.  Kempthorne 
made  inquiries  for  me  ;  and  he  soon  found 
out  that  the  Sancta  Casa,  or  holy  office,  was 
close  to  the  house  where  we  were  then  sit- 
ting. The  gentlemen  went  to  the  window 
to  view  the  horrid  mansion ;  and  I  could  see 


196  HISTORY    OF 

the  indignation  of  free  and  enlightened  men 
arise  in  the  countenance  of  the  two  British 
officers,  while  t  ley  contemplated  a  place 
where  formerly  their  own  countrymen  were 
condemned  to  the  flames,  and  into  which  they 
themselves  might  now  suddenly  be  thrown, 
without  the  possibility  of  rescue. 

The  day  being  now  far  spent,  and  my 
companions  about  to  leave  me,  I  was  consi- 
dering whether  I  should  return  with  them, 
when  Major  Pareira  said  he  would  first  in- 
troduce me  to  a  priest  high  in  office,  and  one 
of  the  most  learned  men  in  the  place.  We 
accordingly  walked  to  the  convent  of  the 
Augustinians,  where  I  was  presented  to  Jo- 
sephus  a  Doloribus,  a  man  well  advanced  in 
life,  of  pale  visage,  and  penetrating  eye, 
rather  of  a  reverend  appearance,  and  possess- 
ing great  fluency  of  speech,  and  urbanity  of 
manners.  After  half  an  hour's  conversation 
in  the  Latin  language,  during  which  he  ad- 
verted rapidly  to  a  variety  of  subjects,  and 
inquired  concerning  some  learned  men  of  his 
own  church,  whom  I  had  visited  in  my  tour, 
he  politely  invited  me  to  take  up  my  resi- 
dence with  him,  during  my  stay  at  Old  Goa. 
I  was  highly  gratified  by  this  unexpected 
invitation;  but  Lieut.  Kempthorne  did  not 
approve  of  leaving  me  in  the  hands  of  the 
Inquisitor;  for,  judge  of  our  surprise,  when 
we  discovered  that  my  learned  host  was  one 
of  the  lo^uisitors  of  the  Holy  Office,  the 
S'^cond  m  mbor  of  that  tribunal  in  rank,  but 


rilE    INQUISITION.  197 

first  and  most  active  agent  in  the  business  of 
the  departmei  t.  Apartments  were  assigned 
to  me  in  tiie  college  adjoining  the  convent, 
next  to  the  rooms  of  the  Inquisitor  himself, 
and  here  1  have  been  four  days  at  the  very- 
fountain-head  of  information,  in  regard  to 
those  subjects  which  I  wished  to  investigate. 
I  breakfast  and  dine  with  the  Inquisitor 
almost  every  day,  and  he  generally  passes 
his  evenings  in  my  apartment.  As  he  con- 
siders my  inquiries  to  be  chiefly  of  a  literary 
nature,  he  is  perfectly  candid  and  communi- 
cative on  all  subjects. 

Next  day  after  my  arrival,  I  was  intro- 
duced by  my  learned  conductor  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Goa.  We  found  him  reading  the 
Latin  letters  of  St.  Francis  Xavier.  On  my 
adverting  to  the  long  duration  of  the  city  of 
Goa,  while  other  cities  of  Europeans  in  India 
had  suffered  from  war  or  revolution,  the 
Archbishop  observed,  that  the  preservation 
of  Goa  was  owing  to  the  prayers  of  St. 
Francis  Xavier.  The  Inquisitor  looked  at 
me  to  see  what  I  thought  of  this  sentiment. 
I  acknowledged  that  Xavier  was  considered 
by  the  learned  among  the  English  to  have 
been  a  great  man :  what  he  wrote  himself, 
bespeaks  him  a  man  of  learning,  of  original 
genius, and  great  fortitude  of  mind;  but  what 
others  have  written  for  him,  and  of  him,  tar- 
nished his  fame,  by  making  him  the  inventor 
of  fables.  The  Archbishop  signified  his  as- 
sent. He  afterwards  conducted  me  into  his 
17* 


198  HLSTORT    OF 

private  chapel,  which  is  decorated  with 
images  of  silver,  and  then  into  the  Archiepis- 
copal  library,  which  possesses  a  valuable 
collection  of  books.  As  I  passed  through  our 
convent,  in  returning  from  the  Archbishop's, 
I  observed  among  the  paintings  in  the  clois- 
ters, a  portrait  of  the  famous  Alexis  de 
Menezes,  Archbishop  of  Goa,  who  held  the 
synod  of  Diamper,  near  Cochin,  in  1599,  and 
burned  the  books  of  the  Syrian  Christians. 
From  the  inscription  underneath,  I  learned 
that  he  was  the  founder  of  the  magnificent 
church  and  convent  in  which  1  am  now  re- 
siding. 

On  the  same  day  I  received  an  invitation 
to  dine  with  the  chief  Inquisitor,  at  his  house 
in  the  country.  The  second  Inquisitor  ac- 
companied me,  and  we  found  a  respectable 
company  of  priests,  and  a  sumptuous  enter- 
tainment. In  the  library  of  the  chief  Inqui- 
sitor, I  saw  a  register,  containing  the  names 
of  the  present  establishment  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion at  Goa,  and  the  names  of  all  the  officers. 
On  asking  the  chief  Inquisitor,  whether  the 
estabhshment  was  as  extensive  as  formerly, 
he  said  it  was  nearly  the  same.  I  had 
hitherto  said  lit.le  to  any  person  concerning 
the  Inquisition,  but  I  had  indirectly  gleaned 
much  information  concerning  it,  not  only 
from  the  Inquisitors  themselves,  but  from 
certain  priests  whom  I  visited  in  their  respec- 
tive convents ;  particularly  from  a  father  in 


THE    INQUISITION,  199 

the  Franciscan  convent,  who  had  himself  re- 
peatedly witnessed  an  auto-da-fe. 

On  the  second  morning  rfter  my  arrival,  1 
was  surprised  by  my  host,  the  Inquisitor, 
coming  into  my  apartment  clothed  in  black 
robes  from  head  to  foot ;  for  the  usual  dress 
of  his  order  is  white.  He  said  he  was  going 
to  sit  on  the  tribunal  of  the  Holy  Office.  "  I 
presume,  father,  your  august  office  does  not 
occupy  much  of  your  time  ?"  "  Yes,"  an- 
swered he,  "  much ;  I  sit  on  the  tribunal 
three  or  four  days  every  week." 

I  had  thought  for  some  days  of  putting 
Dellon's  book  into  the  Inquisitor's  hand ;  for 
if  I  could  get  him  to  advert  to  the  facts 
stated  in  that  book,  I  should  be  able  to  learn, 
by  comparison,  the  exact  state  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion at  the  present  time.  In  the  evening  he 
came  in,  as  usual,  to  pass  an  hour  in  my 
apartment.  After  some  conversation,  I  took 
the  pen  in  my  hand  to  write  a  few  notes  in 
my  journal ;  and,  as  if  to  amuse  him  while  I 
was  writing,  I  took  up  Dellon's  book,  which 
was  lying  with  some  others  on  the  table,  and 
iianding  it  across  to  him,  asked  him  whether 
he  had  ever  seen  it.  It  was  in  the  French 
language,  which  he  understood  well.  "  Re- 
lation de  I'Inquisition  de  Goa,"  pronounced 
he,  with  a  slow  articulate  voice.  He  had 
never  seen  it  before,  and  began  to  read  with 
eagerness.  He  had  not  proceeded  far,  before 
he  betrayed  evident  symptoms  of  uneasiness. 
He  »irned  hastily  to  tb  ;  middle  of  the  book. 


200  HISTORY    OF 

and  then  to  the  end,  and  then  ran  over  the 
table  of  contents  at  the  beginning,  as  if  to 
ascertain  the  full  extent  of  the  evil.  He  then 
composed  himself  to  read,  while  I  continued 
to  write.  He  turned  over  the  pages  with 
rapidity,  and  when  he  came  to  a  certain 
place,  he  exclaimed  in  the  broad  Italian  ac- 
cent, "  Mendacium,  mendacium."  I  request- 
ed he  would  mark  those  passages  which 
were  untrue,  and  we  should  discuss  them 
afterwards,  for  that  I  had  other  books  on  the 
subject.  "  Other  books !"  said  he,  and  he 
looked  with  an  inquiring  eye  on  those  on  the 
table.  He  continued  reading  till  it  was  time 
to  retire  to  rest,  and  then  begged  to  take  the 
book  with  him. 

Next  morning  we  resumed  the  subject  of 
the  Inquisition.  The  Inquisitor  admitted 
that  Dellon's  description  of  the  dungeons, 
of  the  torture,  of  the  mode  of  trial,  and  of 
the  auto-da-fe,  were  in  general  just ;  but  he 
said  the  writer  judged  untruly  of  the  motives 
of  the  Inquisitors,  and  very  uncharitably  of 
the  character  of  the  holy  Church.  He  was 
now  anxious  to  know  to  what  extent  Del- 
lon's book  had  been  circulated  in  Europe.  I 
told  him  Picart  had  published  to  the  world 
extracts  •  from  it,  in  his  celebrated  work  en- 
titled "  Religious  Ceremonies,"  together  with 
plates  of  the  system  of  torture  and  burnings 
at  the  auto-da-fe.  I  added,  that  it  was  now 
generally  believed  in  Europe  that  these  enor- 
mities no  longer  existed,  and  that  the  Inqui- 


THE    INQUISITION.  201 

sitioii  itself  had  been  totally  suppressed  ;  but 
that  I  was  concerned  to  find  that  it  was  not 
the  case.  He  now  began  a  grave  narration 
to  show  that  tlie  In  luisition  had  undergone 
a  change  in  some  :espects,  and  that  its  ter 
rors  were  mitigated. 

I  had  already  discovered,  from  written  or 
printed  documents,  that  the  Inquisition  of 
Goa  was  suppressed  by  royal  edict,  in  1775, 
and  established  again,  in  1779,  subject  to  cer- 
tain restrictions,  the  chief  of  which  are  the 
two  following:  That  a  greater  number  of 
witnesses  should  be  required  to  convict  crimi- 
nals than  were  before  necessary  ;  and  that  the 
auto-da-fe  should  not  be  held  -publicly  as 
before,  but  that  the  sentences  of  the  tribunal 
should  be  executed  privately,  within  the 
walls  of  the  Inquisition. 

In  this  particular,  the  constitution  of  the 
new  Inquisition  is  more  reprehensible  than 
that  of  the  old  one.  Formerly  the  friends 
of  those  unfortunate  persons  who  were 
thrown  into  its  prison,  had  the  melancholy 
satisfaction  of  seeing  them  once  a  year  walk- 
ing in  the  procession  of  the  auto-da-fe ;  or, 
if  they  were  condemned  to  die,  they  wit- 
nessed their  death,  and  mourned  for  the 
dead.  But  now  they  have  no  means  of 
learning  for  years  whether  they  be  dead  or 
alive.  The  policy  of  this  new  mode  of  con- 
cealment appears  to  be  this,  to  preserve  the 
power  of  the  Inquisition,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  les^  3n  the  public  odium  of  its  pro- 


202  HISTORY    OF 

ceedings,  in  the  presence  of  British  (  ominion 
and  civilization.  I  asked  the  father  his  opin- 
ion concerning  the  nature  and  frequency  of 
the  punishments  within  the  walls.  He  said 
he  possessed  no  certain  means  of  giving  a 
satisfactory  answer ;  that  every  thing  trans- 
acted there  was  declared  to  be  "  sacrum  el 
secretum."  But  this  he  knew  to  be  true, 
that  there  were  constantly  captives  in  the 
dungeons;  that  some  of  them  are  liberated 
after  long  confinement,  but  that  they  never 
speak  afterwards  of  what  passed  within  the 
place.  He  added,  that  of  all  the  persons  he 
had  known  who  had  been  hberaied,  he 
never  knew  one  who  did  not  carry  about 
with  him  what  might  be  called  the  "  mark 
of  the  Inquisition ;"  that  is  to  say,  who  did 
not  show  in  the  solemnity  of  his  counte- 
nance, or  in  his  peculiar  demeanour,  or  his 
terror  of  the  priests,  that  he  had  been  in  that 
dreadful  place. 

The  chief  argument  of  the  Inquisitor  to 
prove  the  melioration  of  the  Inquisition,  was 
the  superior  humanity  of  the  Inquisitors.  I 
remarked  that  I  did  not  doubt  the  humanity 
of  the  existing  officers  ;  but  what  availed  hu- 
manity in  an  Inquisitor?  He  must  pro- 
nounce sentence  according  to  the  laws  of 
the  tribunal,  which  are  notorious  enough; 
and  a  relapsed  heretic  must  be  burned  in 
the  flames,  or  confined  for  life  in  a  dungeon, 
whether  the  Inquisitor  be  humane  or  not. 
« But    if,"  said  I,  "  you  would   satisfy  my 


THE    INQUISITION.  203 

mind  completely  on  this  subject,  show  me 
the  Inquisition."  He  said  it  was  not  per- 
mitted to  any  person  to  see  the  Inquisition. 
I  observed  that  mine  might  be  considered  as 
a  peculiar  case  ;  that  the  character  of  the  In- 
quisition, and  the  expediency  of  its  longer 
continuance,  had  been  called  in  question  ; 
that  I  had  myself  written  on  the  civilization 
of  India,  and  might  possibly  publish  some- 
thing more  upon  that  subject,  and  that  it 
could  not  be  expected  that  I  should  pass 
over  the  Inquisition  without  notice,  knowing 
what  I  did  of  its  proceedings  ;  at  the  same 
time  I  should  not  wish  to  state  a  single  fact 
without  his  authority,  or  at  least  his  admis- 
sion of  its  truth.  I  added  that  he  himself 
had  been  pleased  to  communicate  with  me 
very  fully  on  the  subject,  and  that  in  all  our 
discussions  we  had  both  been  actuated,  I 
hoped,  by  a  good  purpose.  The  countenance 
of  the  Inquisitor  evidently  altered  on  receiv- 
ing this  intimation,  nor  did  it  ever  after 
wholly  regain  its  wonted  frankness  and  pla- 
cidity. After  some  hesitation,  however,  he 
said  he  would  take  me  with  him  to  the 
Inquisition  the  next  day.  I  was  a  good 
deal  surprised  at  this  acquiescence  of  the 
Inquisitor,  but  I  did  not  know  what  was  in 
his  mind. 

Next  morning  after  breakfast  my  host 
went  to  dress  for  the  holy  office,  and  soon 
returned  in  his  Inquisitorial  robes.  He  said 
he  would  go  half  an  hour  before  the  usua. 


204  HISTORY    OP 

time  for  the  purpose  of  showing  me  the  In- 
quisition. The  buildings  are  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant  from  the  convent,  and  we 
proceeded  thither.  On  our  arrival  at  the 
place,  the  Inquisitor  said  to  me,  as  we  were 
ascending  the  steps  of  the  outer  stair,  that  he 
hoped  I  should  be  satisfied  with  a  transient 
view  of  the  Inquisition,  and  that  I  would  re- 
tire whenever  he  should  desire  it.  I  took 
this  as  a  good  omen,  and  followed  my  con- 
ductor with  tolerable  confidence. 

He  led  me  first  to  the  great  hall  of  the  In- 
quisition. We  were  met  at  the  door  by  a 
number  of  well  dressed  persons,  who,  I  after- 
wards understood,  were  the  familiars  and  the 
attendants  of  the  holy  office.  They  bowed 
very  low  to  the  Inquisitor,  and  looked  with 
surprise  at  me.  The  great  hall  is  the  place 
in  which  the  prisoners  are  marshalled  for  the 
procession  of  the  auto-da-fe.  At  the  proces- 
sion described  by  Dellon,  in  which  he  him- 
self walked  barefoot,  clothed  with  the  paint- 
ed garment,  there  were  upwards  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  prisoners.  I  traversed  this 
hall  for  some  time,  with  a  slow  step,  reflect- 
ing on  its  former  scenes,  the  Inquisitor  walk- 
ing by  my  side  in  silence.  I  thought  of  the 
fate  of  the  multitudes  of  my  fellow  creatures 
who  had  passed  through  this  place,  condemn- 
ed by  a  tribunal  of  their  fellow  sinners,  their 
bodies  devoted  to  the  flames,  and  their  souls 
to  perdition.  And  I  could  not  help  saying 
to  him,  "  Would  not  the  holy  Church  wish, 


THE    INQUISITION.  205 

in  her  mercy,  to  have  those  souls  back  again, 
that  slie  might  allow  them  a  little  farther  pro- 
bation?" The  Inquisitor  answered  nothing, 
but  beckoned  me  to  go  with  him  to  a  door 
at  one  end  of  the  liall.  By  this  door  he  con- 
ducted me  to  some  small  rooms,  and  thence 
to  the  spacious  apartments  of  the  chief  In- 
quisitor. Having  surveyed  these,  he  brought 
me  back  again  to  the  great  hall;  and  I  thought 
he  seemed  now  desirous  that  1  should  de- 
part. <*  Now,  father,''  said  I,  "  lead  me  to 
the  dungeons  below  ;  I  want  to  see  the  cap- 
tives." "  No,"  said  he,  "  that  cannot  be." 
I  now  began  to  suspect  that  it  had  been  in 
the  mind  of  the  Inquisitor,  from  the  begin- 
ning, to  show  me  only  a  certain  part  of  the 
Inquisition,  in  the  hope  of  satisfying  my  in 
quiries  in  a  general  way.  I  urged  him  with 
earnestness,  but  he  steadily  resisted,  and 
seemed  to  be  offended,  or  rather  agitated  by 
my  importunity.  I  intimated  to  him  plainly, 
that  the  only  way  to  do  justice  to  his  asser- 
tions and  arguments  regarding  the  present 
state  of  the  Inquisition,  was  to  show  me  the 
prisons  and  the  captives.  I  should  then  de- 
scribe only  what  I  saw  ;  but  now  the  subject 
was  left  in  awful  obscurity.  "  Lead  me 
down,"  said  I,  "  to  the  inner  building,  and 
let  me  pass  through  the  two  hundred  dun- 
geons, ten  feet  square,  described  by  your 
former  captives.  Let  me  count  the  number 
of  your  present  captives,  and  converse  with 
them.  I  want  to  see  if  there  be  any  subjects 
18 


206  HISTORY    OF 

of  the  British  government,  to  whom  we  owe 
rotection.  I  want  to  ask  how  long  they  have 
been  here  ;  how  long  it  is  since  they  beheld 
the  light  of  the  sun,  and  whether  they  ever 
expect  to  see  it  again.  Show  me  the  cham- 
ber of  torture ;  and  declare  what  modes  of 
execution,  or  of  punishment,  are  now  prac- 
tised within  the  walls  of  the  Inquisition,  in 
lieu  of  the  public  auto-da-fe.  If,  after  all 
that  has  passed,  father,  you  resist  this  reason- 
able request,  I  shall  be  justified  in  believing 
that  you  are  afraid  of  exposing  the  real  state 
of  the  Inquisition  in  India."  To  these  ob- 
servations the  Inquisitor  made  no  reply  ;  but 
seemed  impatient  that  I  should  withdraw 
"  My  good  father,"  said  I,  "  I  am  about  to 
take  my  leave  of  you,  (it  had  been  before 
understood  that  I  should  take  my  final  leave 
at  the  door  of  the  Inquisition,  after  having 
seen  the  interior,)  and  to  thank  you  for  your 
hospitable  attentions,  and  I  wish  always  to 
preserve  on  my  mind  a  favourable  sentiment 
of  your  kindness  and  candour.  You  cannot, 
you  say,  show  me  the  captives  and  dungeons ; 
be  pleased,  then,  merely  to  answer  this  ques- 
tion, for  I  shall  believe  your  word  :— How 
many  prisoners  are  there  now  below  in  the 
cells  of  the  Inquisition  ?"  The  Inquisitor  re- 
plied, "  That  is  a  question  which  I  cannot  an- 
swer !"  On  his  pronouncing  these  words, 
I  retired  hastily  towards  the  door,  and  wish- 
ed him  farewell.  We  shook  hands  with  as 
much  cordiality  as  we  could  at  the  moment 


THE     rNQUISITION  JOl 

assume  ;  and  both  of  us,  I  believe,  were  sor- 
ry that  our  parting  took  place  with  a  clouded 
countenance. 

From  the  Inquisition  I  went  to  the  place 
of  burning  in  the  Campo  Sanlo-Lazaro,  on 
the  river  side,  where  the  victims  were  brought 
to  the  stake  at  the  auto-da-fe.  It  is  close  to 
the  palace,  that  the  viceroy  and  his  court 
may  witness  the  execution ;  for  it  has  ever 
been  the  policy  of  the  Inquisition  to  make 
these  spiritual  executions  appear  to  be  the 
executions  of  the  state.  An  old  priest  ac- 
companied me,  who  pointed  out  the  place 
and  described  the  scene.  As  I  passed  over 
this  melancholy  plain,  I  thought  on  the  differ- 
ence between  the  pure  and  benign  doctrine, 
which  was  first  preached  to  India  in  the  apos- 
tolic age,  and  that  bloody  code,  which,  after 
a  long  night  of  darkness,  was  announced  to 
it  under  the  same  name  ?  And  I  pondered 
on  the  mysterious  dispensation,  which  per- 
mitted the  ministers  of  the  Inquisition,  with 
their  racks  and  flames,  to  visit  these  lands 
before  the  heralds  of  the  gospel  of  peace. 
But  the  most  painful  reflection  was,  that  this 
tribunal  should  yet  exist,  unawed  by  the  vi- 
cinity of  British  humanity  and  dominion.  I 
was  not  satisfied  with  what  I  had  seen  or  said 
at  the  Inquisition,  and  I  determined  to  go 
back  again.  The  Inquisitors  were  now  sit- 
ting on  the  tribunal,  and  I  had  some  excuse 
for  returning  ;  for  I  was  'o  receive  from  the 
chief  Inquisitor   a  letter  which  he  said  he 


208  HISTOSr    OF 

would  give  me,  before  I  left  the  place,  for 
the  British  resident  at  Travancore,  being  an 
answer  to  a  letter  from  that  officer. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  Inquisition,  and 
had  ascended  the  outer  stairs,  the  door-keep 
ers  surveyed  me  doubtingly,  but  suftered  me 
to  pass,  supposing  that  I  had  returned  by 
permission  and  appointment  of  the  Inquisi- 
tor. I  entered  the  great  hall,  and  went  up 
directly  towards  the  tribunal  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion, described  by  Dellon,  in  which  is  the 
lofty  crucifix.  I  sat  down  on  a  form,  and 
wrote  some  notes  ;  and  then  desired  one  of 
the  attendants  to  carry  in  my  name  to  the 
Inquisitor.  As  I  walked  up  the  hall,  I  saw 
a  poor  woman  sitting  by  herself,  on  a  bench 
by  the  wall,  apparently  in  a  disconsolate  state 
of  mind.  She  clasped  her  hands  as  I  passed, 
and  gave  me  a  look  expressive  of  her  dis- 
tress. This  sight  chilled  my  spirits.  The 
familiars  told  me  she  was  waiting  there  to 
be  called  up  before  the  tribunal  of  the  In- 
quisition. While  I  was  asking  questions  con- 
cerning her  crime,  the  second  Inquisitor 
came  out  in  evident  trepidation,  and  was 
about  to  complain  of  the  intrusion ;  when  I 
informed  him  I  had  come  back  for  the  letter 
from  the  chief  Inquisitor.  He  said  it  should 
be  sent  after  me  to  Goa ;  and  he  conducted 
me  with  a  quick  step  towards  the  door.  As 
we  passed  the  poor  woman  I  pointed  to  her, 
and  said  to  him  with  some  emphasis,  «  Be- 
hold, father,  another  victim  of  the  Holy  In- 


TIIK    INQUISITION.  209 

quisition  !'  lie  answered  nothing.  When 
we  arrived  at  the  head  of  the  great  stair,  he 
bowed,  and  I  took  my  last  leave  of  Josephus 
a  Doloribns,  without  uttering  a  word."* 

Having  thus  given  a  sketch  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion, the  reader  must  have  perceived  in  every 
circumstance  connected  with  this  singular 
tribunal,  its  injustice,  tyranny,  hypocrisy,  and 
cruelty.  Its  dungeons,  torments,  and  execu- 
tions are  not  only  opposed  to  the  spirit  of 
Christianity,  but  outdo  the  most  ferocious 
deeds  recorded  in  history,  of  the  greatest 
tyrant  among  heathen  nations.  It  has  car- 
ried terror  throughout  every  land  in  which 
it  has  been  established,  robbed  both  the 
wealthy  and  the  poor  of  their  property,  and 
what  is  infinitely  worse,  glutted  its  vengeance 
with  the  blood  of  the  innocent. 

Above  all,  the  cruelty  of  the  "  holy  office" 
to  those  whom  it  pronounces  penitent,  is 
most  detestable.  Instead  of  embracing  them 
with  open  arms,  it  inflicts  the  most  grievous 
punishments  on  those  whom,  in  the  pleni- 
tude of  its  power,  it  permits  to  live ;  whilst 
others,  also  believed  to  be  converted  to  the 
faith  of  the  Romish  Church,  are  nevertheless 

*  When  the  Portuguese  possessions  in  India,  seve- 
ral years  ago,  came  under  British  sway,  the  Inquisition 
at  Goa  was  abolished,  and  the  very  building,  which 
was  the  scene  of  such  horrid  cruelties,  has  fallen  into 
decay. 

In  Spain,  too,  this  monstrous  institution  no  longer 
exists. — [Editor  of  the  Presbyterian.'] 
18' 


21C  KISTORY    OF 

doomed  to  suffer  an  ignominious  death.  To 
these  unhappy  persons,  the  sacraments  are 
given,  if  desired ;  thus  acknowledging  that 
tliey  are  "  put  in  a  state  of  salvation,  receiv- 
ed into  the  bosom  of  the  Church,  and  assured 
of  a  heavenly  crown  I"  What  greater  cruelty, 
then,  can  be  conceived,  and  what  more  ab- 
norrent  to  the  mild  spirit  of  the  gospel  of 
peace,  than  to  punish  with  death  a  person 
who  repents,  and  is  reconciled  to  the  Church  ? 
Yet,  such  are  the  iniquitous  doings  of  the  In- 
quisition !  such  the  laws  by  which  that  blood- 
thirsty tribunal  is  governed — laws  which 
must  be  carried  into  effect,  in  despite  of  the 
precepts  of  Jehovah,  and  the  injunctions  of 
the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  every  one  of 
which  are  trampled  under  foot ! 

'*  The  Inquisition,  model  most  complete, 
Of  perfect  wickedness,  where  deeds  were  done, 
Deeds  !  let  them  ne'er  be  named — and  sat  and  planned 
Deliberately,  and  with  most  musing  pains, 
How,  to  extremest  thrill  of  agony, 
The  flesh,  the  blood,  and  souls  of  holy  men, 
Her  victims,  might  be  wrought;  and  when  she  saw- 
New  tortures  of  her  labouring  fancy  born. 
She  leaped  for  joy,  and  made  great  haste  to  try 
Their  force— well  pleased  to  hear  a  deeper  groan. 
The  supplicating  hand  of  innocence. 
That  made  the  tiger  mild,  and,  in  its  wrath, 
The  lion  pause,  the  groans  of  suffering  most 
Severe,  were  nought  to  her ;  she  laughed  at  groans, 
No  music  pleased  her  more,  and  no  repast 
So  sweet  to  her,  as  blood  of  men  redeemed 
By  blood  of  Christ.     Ambition's  self,  though  mad. 
And  nursed  on  human  gore,  with  her  compared, 
Was  merciful." 


THE    INQUISITION.  211 

Nay,  the  Inquisitors  themselves  though  they 
impiously  assume  the  title  of  "  holy,"  have 
almost  uniformly  been  the  most  worthless 
and  abandoned  of  characters.  Crimes  of  the 
blackest  hue  have  been  perpetrated  by  these 
guardians  of  the  faith,  without  a  blush  ;  and 
as  they  feared  not  God,  so  neither  did  they 
regard  man — the  laws  of  magistrates  and 
kings  being  trampled  on  by  them  with  impu- 
nity. These  are  indeed  weighty  charges,  but 
the  following  testimonies  by  Roman  Catholics 
themselves,  given  at  different  periods,  will 
prove  them  to  be  no  less  weighty  than  just. 

"  With  regard  to  the  Inquisition,"  says  JVI. 
P.  de  Almazan,  when  speaking  of  the  Inqui- 
sitors of  Cordova,  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  "  the  measure  adopted,  was  to  place 
so  much  confidence  in  the  archbishop  of  Se- 
ville, that  they  filled  all  these  kingdoms  with 
infamy,  and  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  God, 
as  well  as  in  contradiction  to  all  justice,  they 
destroyed  the  greatest  part  of  them,  by  kill- 
ing, robbing,  and  forcing  maidens  and  mar- 
ried women,  to  the  great  shame  and  discredit 
of  the  Christian  religion." 

"  Of  other  excesses  on  the  part  of  particular 
judges,"  says  Antonio  Perez,  a  century  after- 
wards, "of  proceedings  falsified,  curtailed, 
handled  in  such  a  manner  as  to  gain  favour 
with  the  superiors,  and  besides  stimulated  by- 
personal  inventives  so  loose,  disorderly,  and 
notorious,  that  nothing  else  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  proceed  ngs  agitated  in  the  supreme  court 


2ia  HISTORY    OF 

of  Inquisition,  and  fraught  with  the  piteous 
complaints  of  sufferers,  injured  maidens,  and 
newly  married  women,  overcome  and  pos- 
sessed through  the  stratagems  practised  in 
these  trials,  so  revolting  and  disgraceful,  that 
no  one  would  fail  to  prefer  public  shame  to 
such  secret  dishonour." 

"  0 !  Inquisitors,"  exclaims  an  ancient 
Spanish  historian,  "  oh  !  Inquisitors,  savage 
beasts,  how  long  will  God  endure  your  ty- 
rannic and  cruel  acts  !  Oh  !  Spaniards,  who 
are  so  fonily  attached  to  your  wives  and 
children,  and  watch  over  them  with  such 
jealous  care,  how  long  will  you  endure  that 
these  old  libertines  should  treat  them  in  a 
manner  so  shameful,  and  thus  gratify  their 
beastly  propensities?" 

"  In  the  very  title  they  assume,"  says  Sal- 
gado,  which  "is  the  holy  office  of  Inquisition," 
the  first  part  is,  it  is  holy,  it  is  then  divine^ 
and  their  work  must  be  divine  also.  Were 
this  tribunal  divine,  it  would  omit  nothing  of 
what  it  could  do  to  inform  men  in  the  way 
of  salvation,  and  to  open  to  them  the  secret 
mysteries  of  God's  grace  and  mercy ;  but  all 
their  business  really  is  to  discover  men's  se- 
crets, for  ruining  their  estates,  and  disseizing 
the  owners,  that  (Ahab-like)  they  may  seize 
all.  Further,  were  this  tribunal  holy,  it  would 
approve,  choose,  and  promote  holiness,  as 
God  doth ;  he  communicateth  holiness  to  the 
righteous,  he  approves  it  in  them,  and  exer- 
ciseth  them  thereunto.     Now  where  is  aughl 


THE    INQUISITION.  213 

of  this  to  be  found,  either  in  the  cruel  dispo- 
sition, or  injurious  proceedings  of  this  court, 
and  its  oihcers  ?  Wliere  you  find  the  greatest 
inhumanity,  and  most  of  the  devil's  mahce, 
there  is  nothing  divine,  or  of  God ;  their  ho- 
liness is  condemned,  and  the  holy  are  burnt ; 
though  sometimes  they  condemn  a  vile  of- 
fender, yet  they  never  absolve  a  known  saint, 
a  lover  of  Christ  and  truth  ;  and  were  it  holy, 
it  would  resemble  the  holiness  of  him  in  his 
created  state  under  the  law  of  nature.  But 
here  is  nothing  of  that  where  all  the  laws  of 
natural  equity  and  compassion  are  violated, 
by  forgery  against  the  innocent,  by  forcing 
them  to  shorten  their  present  torments  by 
owning  faults  they  never  committed  ;  in  short, 
using  all,  so  as  none  of  them  would  be  used 
by  others.  Here  is  nothing  divine,  natural ; 
nor  is  there  in  this  tribunal  any  conformity 
to  the  holiness  which  shines  forth  in  Moses* 
law,  which  directed  to  the  best  methods  of 
government,  and  best  provided  for  the  safety 
of  innocents.  This  Inquisition  is  the  most  per- 
nicious to  innocents,  wearing  out  with  long 
imprisonment,  those  that  retain  their  inno- 
cency,  and  burning  those  that  forego  it  to 
please  the  Inquisitors.  Moses'  law  was  holy, 
which  commanded,  to  love  mercy,  do  justice, 
and  walk  humbly  with  God  :  The  Inquisitors, 
for  pride,  like  Lucifer,  for  injustice  unparal- 
leled, are  notorious  ab'iorrers  of  mercy.  Say, 
*eader,  whether  their  tribunal  can  be  holy 
and  divine  ?  There  is  one  more  holy  tribunal 


214  fllSTORT    OF 

namely  that  of  grace,  which  is  to  save  Ufe, 
not  to  destroy  it.  And  well  doth  the  tribu- 
nal of  Inquisition  correspond  to  this,  doth  it 
not  ?  which  is  set  up  to  destroy  life,  not  to 
save  it.  On  Christ's  throne  is  written  life 
and  salvation,  but  on  the  Inquisitor's,  death 
and  destruction  ;  but  yet  it  is  a  judgment 
seat,  and  hath  a  great  authority,  and  there- 
fore divine !  Indeed,  were  it  of  God,  it  were 
divine,  but  it  is  of  the  Pope,  an  usurper,  a 
tyrant,  a  bloody  cruel  one ;  and  these  Inquis- 
itors commissioned  by  him,  are  to  execute  his 
bloody  designs  on  all  innocent  ones  accused, 
and  brought  within  their  snare.  God  permits, 
and  abhors  it  now ;  and  as  he  hath  punished 
many,  so  he  will  punish  all  the  rest  of  this 
bloody  crew  which  profane  the  venerable 
names  of  faith,  justice,  and  holiness,  with 
their  robberies,  murders,  and  perjuries." — 
"  They  inquire  not  dihgently  after  crimes  to 
amend  the  criminal,  but  earnestly  hunt  after 
temporal  estates,  to  seize  them.  Of  old  the 
estates  of  anathematized  ones  were  not  ad- 
judged to  the  exchequer,  but  to  the  fires; 
now  the  goods  of  such  are  adjudged  neither 
to  the  exchequer,  nor  to  the  fires,  but  to  rob- 
bing Inquisitors.  Instead  of  producing  the 
trutn  before  men,  this  tribunal  brings  lies 
openly  to  open  view,  and  by  false  witness 
and  cheats  condemns  innocents ;  they  tran- 
substantiate falsehoods,  and  then  proclaim 
them  truths;  they  contrive  greatest  injustices 
with  greatest  secrecy ;  they  condemn  inno- 


THE    INQUISITION.  215 

cents  by  wiles,  and  smother  their  righteous 
cause,  whi«h  they  never  suffer  to  be  pleaded  ; 
this  their  Inquisition  it  suppresseth  truth,  and 
murders  innocents,  and  inquires  what  gain 
from  the  execution,  never  what  righteousness 
in  the  judgment.  By  all  this  it  appears  the 
tribunal  is  neither  holy,  nor  an  office,  nor  an 
Inquisition." 

«  Thus  the  Inquisition,"  to  use  the  words 
of  Puigblancli,  "  surpassing  the  greatest  ty- 
rants in  pride  and  fierceness,  has  not  yielded 
to  them  in  its  arbitrary  and  despotic  conduct. 
Every  thing  odious  to  be  met  with  in  the 
iniquitous  Enquesta  of  Arragon,  the  Bastile 
of  Paris,  or  any  other  of  the  monstrous  estab- 
hshments  erected  by  despots  to  oppress  their 
people,  is  found  united,  and  even  exceeded 
in  the  monstrous  tribunal  to  which  we  allude. 

Implacable  with  the  unfortunate  who  fell 

beneath  its  claws,  it  has  stained  its  hands  in 
their  blood,  in  the  most  inhuman  manner, 
whenever  they  had  sufficient  heroism  to  brave 
its  terrors ;  whilst  at  the  same  time  it  assumed 
the  garb  of  insolence  towards  the  weak,  cov- 
ering them  with  scoffs  in  their  humiliation. 
Perfidious  in  its  words,  and  base  in  its  con- 
duct, it  only  conceived  itself  happy  while  it 
had  culprits  to  condemn.  Borne  away  by 
its  avarice,  it  devoured  the  loaf  wrested  from 
the  widow  and  orphan,  to  whom  it  rendered 
even  the  means  of  begging  difficult,  by  the 
stigmas  of  infamy  which  it  imposed. 

"  As  the  masterpiece  of  error,  it  obstinate- 


216  HISTORY    OF 

iy  persecuted  letters  and  learned  men,  always 
fearing  to  meet  its  own  destruction  in  the 
broad  light.  It  boasted  of  being  unerring  in 
its  measures,  whilst  from  its  tripod  the  most 
absurd  and^  injurious  oracles  have  issued. 
Possessing  in  the  most  eminent  degree  the 
passions  of  despots,  pride  has  constituted  its 
very  soul,  and  falsehood  the  air  it  has  con- 
stantly breathed.  It  was  adopted  by  kings, 
in  order  to  enslave  nations,  after  it  had  been 
founded  by  the  popes,  for  the  very  purpose 
of  making  kings  their  vassals ;  and  thus  aim- 
ing at  sovereignty,  and  spurning  at  mankind 
at  large,  the  ambition  and  impunity  of  the 
clergy  have  alone  prospered  under  its  shade. 
It  not  only  trampled  on  the  property,  honour^ 
and  lives  of  the  citizens,  but  also  on  their 
shame.  Not  content  with  disturbing  and 
depressing  the  civil  authority,  it  contemned 
the  dignity  of  bishops,  although  it  had  pro- 
claimed itself  their  chief  support.  In  short, 
to  form  the  history  of  its  dominion,  crimes 
of  every  kind  rush  upon  the  mind.  And 
after  this,  how  can  I  call  thee,  the  Holy  Tri- 
bunal ?  Thou  hast  been  a  den  of  thieves,  the 
bulwark  of  superstition  and  of  ignorance; 
the  insatiable  sphinx  of  human  flesh,  a  ty- 
rant among  despotic  establishments,  a  monu- 
ment of  the  barbarism  of  the  middle  ages, 
the  scum  of  tribunals ;  finally,  thou  hast  con- 
stituted an  invention  that  has  stood  alone, 
and  without  a  parallel  in  ancient  or  modern 
times !" 


THE    INQUISITION.  217 

Spain,  unhappy  Spain,  still  groans  under 
the  dominion  of  a  tribunal  so  horribly,  yet 
justly  portrayed.  It  may  stand  for  a  little 
while  longer,  but  it  cannot  exist  long.  The 
blood  of  the  innocents  whom  it  has  murder- 
ed cries  for  vengeance.  The  souls  of  the 
martyrs,  whose  bodies  it  has  tortured  and 
consumed  to  ashes,  exclaim,  "How  long,  0 
Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge, 
and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  who  thus 
persecute  the  saints !" 

The  vengeance  thus  sought,  may  be  for  a 
short  time  deferred,  but  it  will  be  at  length 
executed  to  the  full.  "  With  what  judgment" 
that  unrighteous  tribunal  "  has  judged,  shall 
she  be  judged  ;"  and  because  she  has  not 
only  shed,  but  made  herself  drunk  with,  the 
blood  of  saints  and  of  prophets,  the  Spirit  of 
inspiration  testifies,  that  she  is  to  get  blood 
to  drink,  "  for  she  is  worthy." 

How  very  grateful  ought  we  to  be,  for  oui 
deliverance  from  an  institution  so  inimical  to 
liberty,  both  civil  and  religious  }  We  are  ac- 
quainted with  it  only  by  name,  and  read  of 
its  cruelty  without  being  afraid  of  being  sub- 
jected to  its  barbarous  punishments.  While 
therefore  we  value  our  privileges,  let  us  ac- 
knowledge the  kindness  of  God,  in  prevent- 
ing us  from  being  subjected  to  a  yoke  which 
other  nations  are  unable  to  bear  ;  and  let  us 
show  our  gratitude,  by  holding  fast  the  truth, 
"not  in  unrighteousness,"  but  "  unblamably 
in  holiness  before  God,  even  our  Father." 
19 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I. 

liiicles  ol  1  orquemada,  for  regulating  the  proceedings 
of  the  Inquisition,  drawn  up  in  1484. 

1.  The  first  article  regulates  the  manner 
in  which  the  establishment  of  the  Inquisition 
shall  be  announced  in  the  country  where  it 
is  to  be  introduced. 

2.  An  edict  shall  be  published,  accompa- 
nied by  censures  against  those  who  do  not 
accuse  themselves  voluntarily  during  the  term 
of  grace. 

3.  A  delay  of  thirty  days  shall  be  appoint- 
ed for  heretics  to  declare  themselves. 

4.  All  voluntary  confessions  shall  be  writ- 
ten in  the  presence  of  the  Inquisitors  and  a 
clerk. 

5.  Absolution  shall  not  be  given  secretly  to 
any  person  voluntarily  confessing,  unless  no 
mdividual  is  acquainted  with  his  crime. 

6.  A  part  of  the  penance  imposed  on  a  re- 
conciled heretic,  shall  consist  in  his  being  de- 
prived of  all  honourable  employments,  and 
of  the  use  of  gold,  silver,  silk,  &c. 

7.  Pecuniary  penalties  to  be  imposed  on 
1.11  who  make  a  voluntary  confession. 

8.  The   person  who  accuses  himself  after 

218 


APPENDIX.  219 

the  term  of  grace,  cannot  be  exempted   from 
the  punishment  of  confiscation. 

9.  If  persons  under  twenty  years  of  age  ac- 
cuse themselves,  after  the  term  of  grace,  and 
it  is  proved  that  they  were  drawn  into  error 
by  their  parents,  a  shght  punishment  shall  be 
inflicted. 

10.  The  Inquisitors  shall  declare  in  their 
act  of  reconciliation,  the  exact  time  when 
the  offender  fell  into  heresy,  that  the  portion 
of  property  to  be  confiscated  may  be  ascer- 
tained. 

11.  If  a  heretic,  while  in  prison,  demands 
absolution,  and  appears  to  feel  true  repent- 
ance, it  may  be  granted,  imposing  at  the 
same  time  perpetual  imprisonment. 

12.  But  if  the  Inquisitors  are  suspicious  of 
d  prisoner's  repentance,  they  may  refuse  ab- 
solution, and  declare  him  to  be  a  false  peni- 
tent, and  condemn  him  to  be  burnt. 

13.  If  a  person  who  has  been  absolved, 
should  boast  of  having  concealed  several 
crimes,  or  if  information  should  be  obtained 
that  he  had  committed  more  than  he  had  con- 
fessed, he  shall  be  arrested,  and  treated  as  a 
false  penitent. 

14.  If  the  accused  persist  in  denying  his 
crimes,  even  after  the  publication  of  his  tes- 
timony, he  is  to  be  condemned  as  impenitent. 

15.  If  a  semi-proof  exist  against  a  person 
who  denies  the  charge  brought  against  him, 
he  is  to  be  put  to  the  torture ;  if  he  confesses 
during  the  tortur^'   and  afterwards  confirms 


22U  APPENDIX. 

his  confession,  he  is  to  be  punished  as  con- 
victed ;  if  he  retracts,  he  is  to  be  tortured 
again,  or  condemned  to  an  extraordinary- 
punishment. 

16.  The  entire  deposition  of  the  witnesses 
shall  not  be  communicated  to  the  accused. 

17.  The  Inquisitors  shall,  if  possible,  inter- 
rogate the  witnesses  themselves. 

18.  One  or  more  Inquisitors  shall  be  pre- 
sent when  a  prisoner  is  tortured,  or  appoint 
a  commissioner  in  their  place. 

19.  If  the  accused  does  not  appear  when 
summoned,  he  shall  be  condemned  as  a  he- 
retic. 

20.  When  it  is  proved  that  a  person  by  his 
writings  or  conduct  dies  a  heretic,  he  shall 
be  judged  and  condemned  as  such,  his  body- 
disinterred  and  burnt,  and  his  property  con- 
fiscated. 

21.  Vassals  of  nobles  shall  be  subject  to 
the  Inquisitors. 

22.  In  the  event  of  a  man  burnt  for  heresy 
leaving  children  under  age,  the  Inquisitors 
shall  grant  them  a  portion  of  their  father's 
property,  under  the  title  of  alms,  and  confide 
their  education  to  proper  persons. 

23.  If  V  person  who  has  been  reconciled 
without  confiscation,  possesses  property  be- 
longing to  a  condemned  person,  this  property 
not  to  be  included  in  the  pardon. 

24.  Those  who  are  reconciled,  and  whose 
property  is  not  confiscated,  shall  give  hberty 
to  their  Christian  slaves. 


APPENDIX.  221 

25.  The  Inquisitors,  and  officers  of  the  In- 
quisition, shall  not  receive  any  present,  on 
pain  of  excommunication,  &c. 

25 — 28  Enjoin  the  Inquisitors  to  live  at 
peace  with  each  other,  and  to  watch  the  con- 
duct of  their  inferiors. 


No.  II. 


Articles  drawn  up  by  the  Inquisitor-general  Valdes,  in 
156;,  for  the  better  regulation  of  the  Holy  Office. 

1.  That  when  the  Inquisitors  admit  an  in- 
formation they  must  consult  theologians  of 
integrity  ;  and — 

2.  That  if  it  appears  from  the  opinion  of 
these  theologians,  that  the  object  of  their  ex- 
amination is  a  matter  of  faith,  or  if  the  In- 
quisitors conceive,  without  consulting  them, 
that  the  denounced  fact  is  sufficiently  proved, 
the  procurator-fiscal  shall  cause  the  persons 
implicated  to  be  arrested. 

3.  That  the  Inquisitors  shall  be  assembled 
to  decide  if  imprisonment  should  be  decreed ; 
in  doubtful  cases,  they  shall  summon  consul- 
ters.     [This  is  never  found  necessary.] 

4.  That  when  the  proof  is  not  sufficient  to 
cause  the  arrest  of  the  denounced  person,  the 
Inquisitor  shaL  not  cite  him  to  appear,  or 
subject  him  to  any  examination. 

5.  If  the  Inqv  sitors  are  not  unanimous  in 

19* 


222  APPENDIX 

decreeing  an  arrest,  the  writings  of  the  trial 
must  be  sent  to  the  council. 

6.  The  Inquisitors  shall  sign  the  decree  of 
arrest,  and  address  it  to  the  grand  alguazil  of 
!;he  holy  office.  When  it  relates  to  a  formal 
heresy,  this  measure  shall  be  immediately 
followed  by  the  sequestration  of  the  de- 
nounced person's  property.  If  several  per- 
sons are  to  be  imprisoned,  a  decree  shall  be 
expedited  for  each  individual,  to  be  sepa- 
rately executed,  and  a  note  shall  be  entered 
in  the  trial,  stating  the  day  on  which  the  de- 
cree of  arrest  was  delivered,  and  the  person 
who  received  it. 

7 — 9.  Refer  to  the  manner  of  arresting  a 
prisoner,  &c. 

10.  The  alguazil  shall  require  the  prisoner 
to  give  up  his  money,  papers,  arms,  and  every 
thing  which  it  might  be  dangerous  for  him 
to  be  in  possession  of;  he  shall  not  allow 
him  to  have  any  communication  with  the 
other  prisoners,  without  receiving  permission 
from  the  Inquisitors.  He  shall  remit  all  the 
effects  found  on  the  person  of  the  prisoner, 
to  the  jailer,  who  shall  inform  the  Inquisitors 
of  the  prisoner's  arrival. 

11.  The  jailer  shall  not  lodge  several  pri- 
soners together,  nor  permit  them  to  commu- 
nicate with  each  other. 

12.  Refers  to  the  treatment  of  the  prisonei 
by  the  jailer,  in  regard  to  food  and  clothmg. 

13.  When  the  Inquisitors  think  proper, 
Shey  shal!  order  the  prisoner  to  be  brought 


APPENDIX.  2J3 

to  the  chamber  of  audience — cause  lim  to  sit 
on  a  small  seat,  and  take  an  oatl*  to  speak 
the  truth  at  this,  and  all  succe6ding  au- 
diences— ask  Iiim  his  name,  surname,  age, 
country,  &c. 

14.  The  accused  shall  be  afterwards  ex- 
amined on  his  genealogy.  The  recorder 
shall  write  down  these  details,  in  order  to 
discover  whether  the  accused  is  descended 
from  Jews,  Moors,  heretics,  or  other  indivi 
duals  punished  by  the  holy  office. 

15.  The  accused  shall  next  be  required  to 
give  an  abridged  history  of  his  life  ;  asked  if 
he  is  instructed  in  the  truths  of  the  Christian 
religion,  if  he  has  confessed  himself,  &c. ;  and 
when  he  has  given  an  account  of  all  these 
things,  he  shall  be  asked,  if  he  knows  or  sus- 
pects the  cause  of  his  arrest,  and  his  reply 
shall  regulate  the  questions  put  to  him  after- 
wards. 

16 — 18.  Enjoin,  first,  the  Inquisitors  to  be 
on  their  guard,  to  be  deceived  neither  by  the 
witnesses  nor  the  culprit  secondly,  the  re- 
corder to  write  down  every  question  and  an- 
swer ;  and  lastly,  the  fiscal  to  accuse  the  pri- 
soner, first  of  being  a  heretic  in  general 
terms,  and  afterwards  mention  in  particular 
the  crimes  laid  to  his  charge. 

19.  Although  the  accused  may  confess  all 
the  charges  brought  against  him  in  the  first 
audiences  of  admonition,  yet  the  fiscal  shall 
draw  up  and  present  his  act  of  accusation ; 
because  experience  has  shown,  that  it  is  bet- 


224  APPENDIX. 

ter  that  a  trial  caused  by  the  denunciation 
of  a  person,  who  is  a  party  in  the  cause 
should  be  continued  and  judged  at  the  pro- 
secution of  the  denunciator,  that  the  Inquisi- 
tors may  be  at  Uberty  to  deUberate  on  the 
application  of  punishments  and  penances, 
which  would  not  be  the  case  if  they  pro 
ceeded  officially. 

20.  Whenever  the  accused  is  admitted  to 
an  audience,  he  shall  be  reminded  of  the 
oath  he  has  taken  to  speak  the  truth. 

21.  At  the  end  of  his  requisition,  the  fiscal 
shall  introduce  a  clause,  importing,  that  if  the 
Inquisitors  do  not  think  his  accusation  suffi- 
ciently proved,  they  are  requested  to  decree 
torture  for  the  accused. 

22 — 26.  Refer  chiefly  to  the  appointment 
and  duties  of  an  advocate  to  the  accused 
which  in  the  Inquisition,  is  httle  more  thai 
a  burlesque  on  justice,  and  never  proves  of 
the  least  benefit  to  the  unhappy  victim  ot 
inquisitorial  persecution. 

27.  If  the  accused  confesses  himself  guilty 
of  another  crime,  after  the  proof  is  admitted, 
the  fiscal  shall  accuse  him  of  it,  and  he  shall 
be  prosecuted  according  to  the  ordinary 
forms.  If  the  proof  of  the  first  crime  is  in- 
creased, it  will  be  sufficient  to  inform  the 
prisoner  of  the  circumstances. 

28.  In  the  interval  between  the  proof  and 
the  publication,  the  prisoner  may  demand 
audiences,  through  the  jailer,  which  the  In- 
quisitors must  grant  without  delay,  in  order 


APPENDIX.  225 

to  profit  by  the  inclination  of  the  accused, 
which  may  change  from  day  to  day. 

29 — 32.  Order  the  Inquisitor  to  cause  the 
ratification  of  the  witnesses ;  the  manner  in 
which  this  is  to  take  place,  and  the  pubUca- 
tion  of  their  depositions. 

33.  If  the  accused,  who  has  made  declara- 
tions, reveals  crimes  committed  by  persons 
whom  he  names — the  Inquisitors  will  cause 
him  to  name  them  one  after  the  other,  and 
afterwards  to  state  the  facts  or  words  whir^» 
he  imputes  to  them. 

34.  Although  the  accused  has  denied  the 
charges,  the  publication  of  the  depositions 
must  be  read  to  him,  &c. 

35.  When  the  accused  has  replied  to  the 
publication  of  the  depositions,  he  shall  be 
permitted  to  consult  with  his  advocate,  in 
the  presence  of  an  Inquisitor  and  the  recor- 
der, that  he  may  prepare  his  defence.  The 
recorder  shall  write  down  the  particulars  of 
the  conference ;  but  neither  the  Inquisitor 
nor  recorder,  still  less  the  advocate,  shall  re 
main  alone  with  the  accused. 

36.  If  the  accused  wishes  to  write,  to  fix 
the  points  of  his  defence,  he  shall  be  furnished 
with  paper,  but  the  sheets  shall  be  counted, 
and  numbered  by  the  recorder,  that  the  ac- 
cused may  give  them  back  again,  either  writ- 
ten upon  or  blank.  When  there  is  an  exami- 
nation in  the  defence  of  the  prisoner,  he  shall 
be  required  to  name  on  th-^  margin  of  each 
article,  iie  witnesses  he  wishes  to  call,  that 


226  APPENDIX. 

those  who  are  most  worthy  of  credit  may  be 
examined ;  but  he  must  name  none  but  Chris- 
tians of  an  ancient  race,  who  are  neither  his 
servants  nor  relations. 

37.  Whenever  the  prisoner  is  admitted  to 
an  audience,  the  fiscal  shall  examine  the  state 
of  the  trial,  to  ascertain  if  he  has  declared  any 
thing  new  of  himself  or  others,  &c. 

38  and  39.  Relate  to  the  reception  of  in- 
formations in  behalf  of  the  accused ;  but  with 
their  accustomed  injustice  it  is  ordered,  that 
if  the  accused  demands  the  publication  of 
the  depositions  in  his  defence,  it  must  be  re- 
fused, as  it  may  tend  to  discover  the  persons 
who  have  deposed  against  him. 

40.  When  the  trial  is  so  far  advanced,  that 
the  sentence  may  be  passed,  the  Inquisitors 
shall  convoke  the  ordinary,  and  the  con- 
suiters.  The  consulters  shall  give  their  votes 
first ;  then  the  ordinary,  the  Inquisitors  after 
him,  and  the  Dean  the  last. 

41.  When  the  accused  confesses  himself 
guilty,  and  his  confessions  have  the  required 
conditions,  if  he  is  not  relapsed,  he  shall  be 
admitted  to  reconciUation ;  his  property  shall 
be  seized ;  he  shall  be  clothed  in  the  habit 
of  a  penitent  or  a  sanbenito,  and  be  confined 
in  the  prison  for  those  who  are  condemned 
to  perpetual  imprisonment.  If  it  is  proper 
that  he  should  remain  in  prison  for  an  un- 
limited time,  it  shall  be  said  in  his  sentence 
that  his  p  inishment  shall  last  as  long  as  the 
Inquisitor  thinks  proper.     If  the  accused  has 


APPENDIX.  227 

relapsed  after  abjuring  a  formal  heresy,  or  is 
a  false  penitent  when  he  has  abjured  as  vio- 
lently suspected,  and  is  convicted  in  the 
present  trial  of  the  same  heresy,  he  shall  be 
given  up  to  the  common  judge  according  to 
the  civil  law,  and  his  punishment  shall  not  be 
remitted,  although  he  may  protest  that  his 
repentance  is  sincere,  and  his  confession  true 
in  this  case. 

42.  The  abjuration  must  be  written  after 
the  sentence,  and  signed  by  the  accused, — 
or  if  he  cannot  write,  by  an  Inquisitor  and 
the  recorder. 

43.  If  the  accused  is  convicted  of  heresy, 
bad  faith,  and  obstinacy,  he  shall  be  relaxed, 
[i.  e.  burnt,]  but  the  Inquisitors  must  not 
neglect  to  endeavour  to  convert  him,  that  he 
may  die  in  the  faith  of  the  Church. 

44.  If  a  condemned  person  repents  and 
confesses  his  sins  before  the  night  of  the 
auto-da-fe,  in  a  manner  that  shows  a  true 
repentance,  his  execution  shall  be  suspended ; 
but  if  he  is  converted  on  the  scaffold,  the  In- 
quisitors must  suppose  that  the  fear  of  death 
has  more  influence  in  this  conversion,  than 
true  repentance;  yet  if  they  think  proper, 
Ihey  may  suspend  the  execution. 

45.  When  the  Inquisitors  have  resolved  to 
have  recourse  to  the  torture,  they  must  state 
the  motive,  declaring  whether  the  accused  is 
subjected  to  it  in  consequence  of  persisting  in 
his  denials,  or  suffers  as  a  witness  who  de- 
nies, in  the  trial  of  another  accused.     If  he 


228  APPENDIX. 

is  convicted  of  bad  faith  in  his  own  cause,  and 
is  consequently  Uable  to  be  relaxed,  or  if  he 
is  equally  so  in  any  other  affair,  he  may  be 
tortured,  though  he  must  be  given  up  to  the 
secular  judge,  for  what  concerns  him  per 
sonally. 

46.  If  only  a  semi-proof  of  the  truth  exists, 
or  if  appearances  will  not  admit  of  the  ac- 
quittal of  the  prisoner,  he  shall  make  an  ab- 
juration, as  either  being  violently  or  slightly 
suspected. 

47.  In  cases  where  only  the  semi-proof  of 
the  truth  exists,  the  accused  has  been  some- 
times allowed  to  clear  himself  canonically 
before  the  number  of  persons  in  the  ancient 
instructions,  (viz.  a  jury  of  twelve  persons;) 
but  though  the  Inquisitors  may  allow  it  if 
they  think  proper,  they  must  observe  that  this 
proceeding  is  very  dangerous. 

48.  The  third  manner  of  proceeding  in  this 
case  is  to  employ  the  question,  (that  is,  the 
torture.)  The  remainder  of  this  article,  and 
the  four  articles  which  follow,  refer  chiefly  to 
the  regulations  to  be  observed  in  appointing 
the  torture  to  be  inflicted. 

53.  Twenty-four  hours  after  the  accused 
has  been  put  to  the  question,  he  shall  be 
asked  if  he  persist  in  his  declarations,  and  if 
he  will  ratify  them.  If  at  this  moment  he 
confesses  his  crimes,  and  ratifies  his  declara- 
tions, in  such  a  manner  as  to  prove  his  con- 
version, he  may  be  admitted  to  a  reconcilia- 


APPENDIX.  229 

tion ;  but  if  he  retracts  his  de(  aration,  the 
Inquisitors  shall  proceed  according  to  rule. 

54.  If  the  accused  resist  the  torture,  the 
judges  shall  deliberate  on  the  nature,  form, 
and  quality  of  the  torture  which  he  has  suf- 
fered, or  the  degree  of  intensity  with  which 
it  was  inflicted ;  on  the  age,  strength,  health, 
and  vigour  of  the  patient,  &c.  and  they  shall 
declare  if  he  is  already  cleared  by  what  he 
has  suffered. 

55.  The  judges,  notary,  and  the  execu- 
tioners, shall  be  present  at  the  torture  ;  and 
when  it  is  over,  the  Inquisitors  shall  cause  an 
individual  who  has  been  wounded,  to  be  pro- 
perly attended. 

56.  The  Inquisitor  shall  take  care  that  the 
jailer  shall  not  insinuate  any  thing  to  the 
accused  relating  to  his  defence. 

57.  The  aflair  being  for  the  second  time, 
in  a  state  for  passing  sentence,  there  shall  be 
a  new  audience  of  the  Inquisitors,  the  ordi- 
nary, &c. 

58.  When  the  Inquisitors  release  an  ac- 
cused person  from  the  secret  prisons,  he  shall 
be  conducted  to  the  chamber  of  audience  ; 
and  after  being  interrogated  with  regard  to 
the  conduct  of  the  jailer,  he  shall  be  ordered 
to  keep  these  details,  and  all  that  has  passed 
since  his  detention,  secret,  and  sign  a  promise 
to  this  effect. 

59.  If  a  prisoner  dies  before  his  trial  is 
terminated,  and  his  declarations  have  not  ex- 
t  nuated  the  charges  of  the  witnesses,  so  as 

20 


230  APPENDIX. 

to  give  a  sufficient  cause  for  reconciliation, 
the  Inquisitors  shall  give  notice  of  his  death 
to  his  children,  or  other  persons  who  have 
the  right  of  defending  his  memory  and  pro- 
perty, in  case  they  see  cause  to  pursue  the 
trial  of  the  deceased. 

60 — 63.  Specify  chiefly  the  manner  in 
which  the  children  or  heirs  of  the  deceased 
who  wish  to  defend  his  memory  or  property 
are  to  proceed.  But  few  individuals  dare 
enter  the  lists  with  such  a  powerful,  tyranni- 
cal, unjust,  and  avaricious  tribunal,  though 
perfect  truth  and  equity  be  clearly  on  their 
side. 

64.  When  absent  individuals  are  to  be 
tried,  they  shall  be  thrice  summoned  to  ap- 
pear at  proper  intervals ;  the  fiscal  denounc- 
ing them  contumacious  at  the  end  of  each 
citation. 

65.  The  Inquisitors  may  take  cognizance 
of  several  crimes  which  may  occasion  heresy, 
such  as  bigamy,  blasphemy,  and  suspicious 
propositions;  the  degree  of  punishment  to 
depend  on  the  prudence  of  the  judges. 

66  and  67. — Refer  to  the  manner  of  the  In- 
quisitors giving  their  votes,  and  of  the  duty 
of  the  secret  notaries. 

68.  When  the  Inquisitors  are  informed  that 
any  of  the  prisoners  have  communicated  with 
other  detained  persons,  they  shall  ascertain 
the  fact ;  in  which  case  little  credit  can  be 
given  to  a  ly  subsequent  declarations  made 


APPENDIX.  231 

by  these  persons,  either  in  their  owu  cause, 
or  in  the  trial  of  another. 

69.  When  a  trial  has  been  suspended,  if 
another  commences,  though  for  a  different 
crime,  the  charges  of  the  first  shall  be  added 
to  those  of  the  second,  and  the  fiscal  shall 
maintain  them  in  his  act  of  accusation,  be- 
cause they  aggravate  the  new  crime  of  which 
the  prisoner  is  accused. 

70  and  71.  Specify  the  necessity  of  keep- 
ing the  prisoners  separate,  and  point  out  the 
treatment  of  those  who  fall  sick. 

72.  The  witnesses  in  a  trial  shall  not  be 
confronted,  because  experience  has  shoAvn 
that  this  measure  is  useless  and  inconvenient, 
independently  of  the  infringement  of  the  law 
of  secrecy  which  is  the  result. 

73.  When  an  Inquisitor  visits  the  towns  of 
the  district  of  his  tribunal,  he  shall  not  under- 
take any  trial  for  heresy,  or  arrest  any  de- 
nounced person,  but  he  shall  receive  the  de- 
clarations, and  send  them  to  the  tribunal; 
yet,  if  it  is  the  case  of  a  person  whose  flight 
may  be  apprehended,  he  may  be  arrested  and 
sent  to  the  prisons  of  the  holy  office. 

74.  In  the  definitive  sentence  pronounced 
against  an  individual  guilty  of  heresy,  and 
condemned  to  be  deprived  of  his  property, 
u.^  period  when  he  first  fell  into  heresy  shall 
be  indicated,  because  this  knowledge  may 
be  useful  to  the  steward  of  the  confisca- 
tions, &c. 

75.  The  jriler  shall  give  an  account  of  the 


232  APPENDIX. 

common  and  daily  nourishment  of  each  pri 
soner,  according  to  the  price  of  the  eatables. 

76.  If  the  prisoner  has  a  wife  or  children, 
and  they  require  to  be  maintained  from  his 
sequestrated  property,  a  certain  sum  for  each 
day  shall  be  allowed  them,  proportioned  to 
their  number,  age,  quality,  and  state  of  their 
health,  as  well  as  to  the  extent  and  value  of 
these  possessions.  If  any  of  the  children 
exercise  any  profession,  and  can  thus  provide 
for  themselves,  they  shall  not  receive  any 
part  of  the  allowance. 

77.  When  any  trials  are  terminated  and 
sentences  passed,  the  Inquisitors  shall  fix  the 
day  for  the  celebration  of  an  auto-da-fe, 
giving  proper  notice  of  it  to  the  ecclesiastical 
chapter  and  municipahty  of  the  town,  &c. 

78.  The  Inquisitors  shall  not  permit  any 
person  to  enter  the  prisons  on  the  day  before 
the  auta-da-fe,  except  the  confessors  and  the 
familiars  of  the  Holy  Office,  when  their  em- 
ployments make  it  necessary.  The  familiars 
shall  receive  the  prisoner,  and  be  responsible 
i"or  him  after  the  notary  has  taken  evidence 
if  it  in  writing,  and  shall  be  required  to  take 
him  back  to  the  prisons  after  the  ceremony 
of  the  auto-da-fe,  if  he  is  not  given  over  to 
the  secular  judge ;  they  shall  not  allow  any 
^-^erson  to  speak  to  him  on  the  road,  or  inform 
him  of  ai^y  thing  that  is  passing. 

1?.  0.1  the;  day  after  the  auto-da-fe,  the 
laq^udtors  shaU  cause  all  the  reconciled  per- 
sons to  be  brouo^    before  them;  explain  to 


APPENDIX.  233 

each  the  sentence  which  had  been  read  the 
day  before,  and  tell  him  to  what  punishment 
he  would  have  been  condemned  if  he  had 
not  confessed  his  crime.  They  shall  examine 
them  all,  particularly  on  what  passes  in  the 
prisons,  and  give  them  into  the  custody  of  the 
jailer  of  the  perpetual  prisons,  who  shall  be 
commissioned  to  observe  that  they  accomplish 
their  penances,  and  to  inform  them  when 
they  fail,  &c. 

80.  Th»  Inquisitor  shall  visit  the  perpetual 
prisons,  from  time  to  time,  to  observe  the 
conduct  of  the  prisoners,  and  if  they  are  well 
treated. 

81.  The  sanbenitos  of  all  those  persons 
who  have  been  condemned  to  death  shall  be 
exposed  in  their  respective  parishes,  after 
they  have  been  burnt  in  person  or  in  effigy ; 
but  the  same  shall  be  done  with  the  sanbeni- 
tos of  the  reconciled  persons,  after  they  have 
left  them  off.  The  inscription  of  the  sanbe- 
nito  shall  consist  of  the  names  of  the  con- 
demned persons,  a  notice  of  the  heresies  for 
which  they  were  punished,  and  of  the  time 
when  they  suffered  their  penance,  in  order  to 
perpetuate  the  disgrace  of  heretics  and  thth 
descendants. 


THE    END. 


933.1 

Si44 


BRiniE  DO  NOT 
PHOTOCOPY 


is 


